The Discarded Hero
by Ashkar
Summary: This is a continuation of the fanfic Discarded by GatsuBerk www fanfiction net/s/6746027/1/Discarded credit to him for the start it picks up after chpt 12 of his story. this is my first fanfic so any suggestions are welcome...hope you enjoy the story (Contains Smut)
1. Changes Towards the Future

Chapter 1 (Changes towards the future)

Disclaimer: I do not own anything

Credit for the start of this story goes to GatsuBerk...this is a continuation of his fanfic Discarded...this story picks up right at the end of chapter 12 in his story.

* * *

Saito slowly opened his eyes. He was still a little sore and tired from the battle yesterday but knew he would be completely healed by this afternoon. That was a very good thing because he needed to head to Albion to complete the mission the princess had given him before he left.

Right now though, at this moment, he couldn't take his eyes off the beautiful, gentle, loving girl he was laying with wrapped up in his arms. Just laying here in bed with her made his entire soul feel calm and relieved.

Saito had done some traveling in the few months since leaving the academy. He has met all kinds of different people, a lot of them beautiful and kind women. No matter how beautiful, gentle or caring they were, he always compared all of them to Siesta, and none of them could match her in his eyes.

He knew when he left the village the first time she couldn't take not seeing him or knowing whether he was safe or not. He tried to make sure she understood he would always return to her, but he wasn't sure if he did. The last thing Saito wanted was to lose Siesta. He truly loved her even though they haven't been together for very long, but the direction his life was going now, being a royal guard, taking out mages, and all the other things that have been adding to his reputation he was afraid he would be putting not only Siesta, but her entire family in danger if he was with her. He needed to find out if she was willing to accept that kind of danger. He didn't want to be with anyone else but if it was too dangerous, he would make sure she was safe and free to live whatever life she choose. He certainly wanted it to be with him, but as long as she was safe and happy that was all that mattered to him.

Just as Saito was finishing up his intermonologue, Siesta started to wake up. She stretched herself out to wake up her body and looked right into Saito's eyes.

"Good morning beautiful" Saito said to her. He always loved the light blush she would get when he called her beautiful.

"Good morning to you, handsome" Siesta said causing her to blush a little bit. Everytime Saito called her beautiful it made her heart flutter.

"I have to go see Jacob, talk to your father, check on everyone to make sure no one has any lingering injuries, and I need to leave again by this afternoon" Saito told Siesta. She was not very happy that he was leaving again after she just got him back after 2 months of being away.

"What do you mean you have to leave again Saito?" asked Siesta. She wanted to spend a lot more then just one night cuddled up next to her Saito before he left her again. "You just came home yesterday, fought all night to overthrow our corrupt Duke and you have to leave again before I get to spend any time with you?" Siesta says to him.

"I know Siesta i'm really sorry but the princess gave me a mission I have to complete. Luckily, this one isn't dangerous and it will only take me a couple of days before I will be back here. I just have to go to Albion and retrieve something for the princess and i'll be right back. I promise to spend as much time as I can with you before I have to leave and I wanted to talk to you after I was finished with all the things I mentioned earlier. Can you make some time for me after I'm done and before I leave so I can talk to you about some things?" Saito said. His eyes never leaving Siesta.

"Yes Saito, I will make sure I have time to talk to you later. How about this then Saito? You go see Jacob at his tower and I will go to the shelter to check on the injured. My dad should also be there and I can send him to Jacob's tower to talk to you when I see him. That way we can get it done faster and I get more time to spend with you today!" Siesta was very excited to help him get everything done he wanted to. She wanted to spend every possible second with him before he left again today. She missed the kisses, hugs, and cuddling so much.

"That sounds like a great idea Siesta. I'll head to Jacob's tower and once I talk to you father i'll head back to the shelter. I can talk to anyone there who has any questions and we can spend a couple hours together after we are done there."

Siesta is thrilled at this idea and starts to get up out of bed, only to be pulled down by Saito.

"Where do u think you're going beautiful? Can I please get a good morning kiss from the most beautiful woman on two worlds?" Saito asked Siesta as he pulled her down into his arms.

"Of course my hero, you can have as many as you like" Siesta says to him as he steals a kiss from her. It never ceases to amaze him how every time he has an intimate moment with her that it feels so natural. The way their hands practically melt together when they hold hands, the way their bodies fit together when they sleep together, and the way his lips feel everytime they kiss. "But first..." Siesta says "Let's get some breakfast you have to be starving after yesterday" As if on cue, Saito's stomach rumbles. Siesta giggles at the sound "See, I told you you needed to eat. What would you do without me Saito?" the former maid says to him giggling at him.

"I have no idea what I would do without you Siesta" says Saito.

Saito and Siesta sit down to have some breakfast and spend a little time together before everything they need to get accomplished today before Saito leaves again. After breakfast, Saito gave Siesta another kiss and told her he would see her in a little bit after he was done at Jacob's tower. As Saito made his way towards the tower he took in the village of Tarbes and he didn't like what he saw. The village was pretty much destroyed. There were very few buildings that were not damaged and not many more that could be fixed without tearing them completely down and rebuilding.

The one thing that kept his mind off the destruction was the fact he knew they had the money to rebuild and they had a strong enough community that they would help each other get back on their feet. While he was lost in thought, he realized he was already at Jacob's tower. Saito knocked on the door and waited for Jacob to answer.

"Hey Saito!" Jacob said glad to see his friend was up and doing good after that battle yesterday. "It's good to see you up and about. You used a lot of KI and energy yesterday and I wasn't sure how long it would take you to recover from that much strain"

"Yeah I feel good Jacob. I'm still a little sore and not quite completely recovered yet, but I will be back at 100% by this afternoon so no need to worry about me" Saito said to him. He wanted to make sure Jacob wasn't worried about him.

"So what brings you to my tower this morning Saito? I figured you would be spending today attached to Siesta like you two always are when you are together" Jacob says to Saito laughing a little at the two inseperable teens he has come to think of as family.

"Well, I will be spending a lot of time with Siesta today but I actually came to see you because I need to use the messenger bird to send a message to the princess. I have to leave again this afternoon to head to Albion but I need to send a message and wait for the reply. It shouldn't take more then a few hours for the message back and I will be leaving after that" Saito said to Jacob.

"Of course you can use it Saito" Jacob says to him "Anything for a royal guard of Tristania" Jacob says chuckling at Saito.

"Yeah her majesty gave me this before we left. It still hasn't fully sunk in what exactly that means for me but i'm starting to get the idea by the way everyone keeps reacting when they see this" as he points to the clasp on his cloak.

"It means you're moving up in the world Saito!" Jacob exclaims loudly. Saito isn't sure if he is making fun of him or happy for him but he will take it either way. He realized not long after meeting Jacob that he was nothing like most of the mages he knew.

"Ok thanks Jacob. Oh also, John should be making his way here so I can talk to him. If you see him before I'm done sending my message could you tell him I will be right out?" Saito asks Jacob.

"No problem Saito. I was just about to head to the shelter and check on everyone. If I run into him i'll make sure I send him this way. After you are done come join us. You can see the messenger bird returning from anywhere in the village, so we will see it return when the princess has replied" Jacob says. He wanted to make sure Saito got a little time to relax before he needed to leave again.

"Thank you very much Jacob. I'll see you in a little bit after I finish up" Saito tell him.

Saito goes inside the tower and starts writing his letter to the princess. He tells her all the information he learned about Wardes, everything Guiche, Tabitha, and Kirche told him as well as the messenger bird that arrived in Tarbes before he got there to warn the Duke.

Saito knew it had to be someone in that meeting that sent that bird and the logical choice was Wardes after he heard about him from his friends from the academy. Right as he was finishing up his letter to the princess a knock came to the door.

"Come in" Saito said. As he glanced up from sealing his letter with his new royal guard stamp he saw Siesta's father John enter into Jacob's tower.

"Good morning Saito, I see you are feeling better" John says to Saito.

"Yes I feel much better then I did last night. Probably look a lot better to. I felt like crap after that was over." Saito says

"I can understand that, you fought hard yesterday and we are all grateful for what you did for us" John says incredibly proud at what the young man has accomplished already. "So Siesta said you wanted to talk to me? If it's about the recovery of the town they are already making plans on what is going to be rebuilt first at the shelter" says John wondering what Saito wanted to talk about with him.

"No sir, this doesn't have to do with the rebuild. I wanted to talk to you about something else. Do you want to go for a walk for a little bit?" Saito asked. Now he was starting to get nervous and his mind was racing. He planned out what he wanted to say to John but now he needed some fresh air to clear his mind and get his thoughts in order.

"Sure, that sounds like a good idea, we can get a better look at what will need to be done with a little walk around the village" says John, letting Saito let out a breath of relief.

As John and Saito walked through the town Saito was awfully quiet for someone who requested to talk to someone else.

"Saito, are you alright?" John asks him "I don't think I can recall someone asking to speak to someone else then being silent on the whole walk" John lets out a chuckle which breaks Saito from his deep thought on how to talk to John.

"Oh yeah, sorry about that, I was lost in thought trying to figure out how I want to say this to you." he says to John.

"Hmm, say what? You know me pretty well Saito even though we haven't spent a ton of time together. Ask whatever you like of me, you don't have to be shy around me"

This made Saito relax quite a bit. Taking a cue from John, Saito finally started talking instead of just thinking.

"Sir, you know how much I care about Siesta right?" Saito asks the man, hoping he doesn't have a problem with them being together.

"Yes Saito, I know you care a great deal about Siesta. You have shown that before I even know who you were when you saved her from that Count and the tax collector. I know you are not one to let others suffer but i've seen how you two are together. You make each other happy and it's great to see." John says to him.

"Thank you sir, I'm glad you can see that. The reason I am bringing this up to you is i'm starting to realize how much my actions are effecting everyone and everything around me. Taking on the Count, the tax collector, becoming a royal guard. I could feel the contempt and hate from a lot of people in the royal capitol when I was standing in court and these were people not identified as traitors. I now realize being around me is probably going to get quite dangerous and I don't want Siesta or your family to get caught up in this, but I can't deny what I feel. I love your daughter very much sir. I haven't told her that I love her yet but I want to before I leave again today and I want to ask her to marry me." John was a little stunned by this. Not because he wanted to marry Siesta he figured this was going to happen eventually he just didn't think it would be so soon. "But I am torn sir, I know I love her and want to be with her but I don't want to put her or your family in harms way. I know if people find out about her or you guys they might target you for kidnapping or worse and I would rather be alone and be sure you and your family are safe then risk any of you."

John wasn't quite sure how to respond to Saito. He wanted Siesta to be happy but understood what Saito was getting at. This young man was already starting to change everything around him and he would certainly be making enemies especially with the nobility, with the exception of a select few, who saw him as nothing but a commoner causing problems for their rule. John knew Siesta loved Saito it was obvious and Saito trained the knights in the village to be much better then your average knights. He decided he would leave this up to Siesta and back any decision she made because he wanted his daughter to be happy.

"Saito, I understand what you are getting at. This world can be cruel and unjust. You are starting to change that and you are going to be making enemies. Just because you are changing things doesn't mean you should stop living also." John says to the young man "it doesn't matter how much you change the world if you are not happy with the world you live in. There will always be risks in life. If you wouldn't have come along, we would still be worrying about most nobles in this country and Siesta would already be lost to us to someone like Count Mott who see us as nothing but property. You should tell Siesta how you feel and let her make that decision. I will back my daughter up no matter what she decides. If you are asking for my blessing then you certainly have it. There is no one I can see making her as happy as you make her." John says to Saito.

"Thank you sir, I needed a talk like that. It makes me happy you have the confidence in me to give me your blessing. Let's head toward the shelter so I can talk to Siesta."

"That sounds like a good idea. Maybe soon i'll be calling you son instead of Saito or young man" the old man laughs.

"I hope so too sir, I really do" Saito says

John and Saito walked towards the shelter in relative silence after that. Saito wondering what exactly to say to Siesta while John was thinking about his daughter. He was 99% certain Siesta would face any danger to be with Saito. It made him both proud and scared that she would. After about a 10 minutes walk they found themselves coming up on the shelter. Kirche, Tabitha, Guiche, and Momo were all just outside the shelter eating some breakfast.

"Good morning darling" Kirche says to Saito

"Good morning Saito" Tabitha, Guiche and Momo say to him.

"Good morning everyone. Thanks again for all your help yesterday. I don't think we could have pulled that off without your guys help" Saito says to his friends from the academy.

"So what's on the agenda for today Saito?" asks Guiche

"I need to wait for a messanger bird from the princess, make sure everyone in the shelter is doing good, and have a talk with Siesta. I have to leave right after the messanger bird returns." Saito tells them

"You're leaving again already darling? We haven't had any time to catch up since you left me at the academy." Kirche says to him.

"We can catch up as soon as I'm back Kirche. I have to spend some time with Siesta and I need to go to Albion for the princess, but I will only be gone for a few days and when I return i'll be heading for the capitol. We can catch up when I get back." he says to the Germanian. Still completely oblivious to the fact she wants some alone time with him.

Saito gets up and thanks everyone again for coming to help him and heads into the shelter to find Siesta. As he walks in he is stopped by everyone who sees him to thank him for getting rid of the Duke and everything he is doing for commoners everywhere. Saito doesn't mind the praise but the only thing on his mind right now is Siesta. He knows if he doesn't talk to her soon he's going to be a bumbling, stuttering mess asking her. His talk with her father gave him the courage he needed but he is slowly losing that courage the longer it takes to get Siesta alone. After talking to, what seemed like the whole village, Saito finally spots her putting fresh bandages on one of the injured Knights of Tarbes. No matter what she is doing you can always tell how gentle and caring she is. After she is done redressing the soliders wound, she sees Saito standing there waiting for her.

"Hey Saito! I just finished up, are you done doing what you needed to do?" Siesta asks him. Hoping he is done so she can spend every second possible with him before he leaves. She was devistated when he left the first time but after talking to her cousin, Jessica, she realized she was right. If she sulked around all the time Saito was gone, he would probably never want her when he returned. Being in love meant trusting the one you were in love with and he promised he would always return to her, and even bought her an incredibly expensive hawk that could always find the two of them so they could stay in touch no matter where he went to.

"Yes Siesta, i'm done with what I needed to do. Do you think we could take a walk so we could talk for a bit?" Saito asks

"Absolutely Saito" she exclaims grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the shelter. There were quite a few jealous and angry females at Siesta. After getting to sit in Saito's lap after the battle yesterday, then having him rest on her chest to sleep, and now holding hands and going for a walk. It wasn't that they didn't like Siesta, they were all just jealous at the attention Saito gave to her. If things went the way Saito hoped, they were going to be a lot angrier when they returned.

As Saito and Siesta walked around the town holding hands Saito was trying to figure out what to say. Well, what to say was easy he just didn't know where to start. Should he tell her he loves her first or should he asks if she was willing to take the risk of being with someone who had made so many enemies and will probably make even more? As Saito contemplated this Siesta could tell he was thinking very hard about something. She didn't want to pry but thought maybe some words of encouragment from her might help him ask what is on his mind.

"Are you okay Saito? It looks like you are thinking hard about something? You know you can talk to me about anything? If you don't want to talk about it that is fine. I'm here whenever you need me Saito." Siesta tells Saito. Like something just clicked in his brain he stopped walking, turned to Siesta, and looked right into her eyes.

"Siesta, I am finally starting to realize what I am causing in this country. I have been taking out mages like Count Mott and the tax collector. I just took out the Duke of Tarbes. I could feel the hate and contempt coming from some of the nobles in the court who are suppose to be the protectors of the people. I am making a lot of enemies and I have a feeling that number is just going to keep rising. You know that I care about you Siesta. At least I hope you know. Are you sure you want to be with me? If I keep going down the path I am, i'm afraid someone will come after you or your family and I don't want to cause you or your family any pain. Can you live with that Siesta? knowing people might be after you and your family if they ever find out we are together?" Saito asks Siesta. He hopes she says she can handle it because he can't picture himself with anyone who isn't Siesta but he will respect her decision if she doesn't want to put her family or herself in danger. He knew how dangerous it was to be around him already and knew it was going to get worse.

"Saito, no matter where we are in this world there will always be danger. Imagine what would have happened to me if you wouldn't have come here. I would probably be a lifeless shell of myself stuck at Count Mott's to do with as he pleased with no say in the matter. You saved me from him and the tax collector. I would rather face more danger with you by my side then possibly be safe and not be with you. You make me incredibly happy and I want to be with you no matter what dangers we face" Siesta says to Saito.

Saito is happy beyond all measure in his heart. He was hoping she would say yes, but hearing her talk about him like that just reinforced how much he knew he loved her. Now, he was going to tell her he loved her for the first time and show her by asking her to marry him. He didn't even know it was possible to be happy and terrified at the same time but that is exactly how he felt at this moment.

"Good Siesta, it makes me incredibly happy to hear you say that. I also wanted to tell you something that i've never said to anyone Siesta." Saito looks right into her eyes so she knows what he is about to say is the truth. Siesta is looking in his eyes wondering what Saito is going to say. She gets lost in his eyes everytime she stares into them but this time all she could think about was what he was going to say.

"Siesta..." he takes her hands and locks their fingers together, facing directly at her looking deep into her soul. "I love you Siesta. I have never had feelings like this for anyone before. Just seeing your face or you smile or you kindness makes me smile. The way our hands seem to melt together, the way our bodies fit perfectly together when we sleep, and the way your lips feel every time I kiss them." Saito can see the tears forming in her eyes as he is saying this to her. He thinks they are happy tears but she hasn't said anything even after he finished speaking. Now he is nervous he said that too soon and she is going to run away from him thinking he is going too fast.

"Saito... I love you too. I have loved you for a long time and it makes me so happy that you feel the same way that I do" Siesta says to him. Finally relived that she knows he feels the same way. She thought because of all the women trying to get his attention that he would get bored with her or thought someone else was prettier. He was making all her dreams comes true when he told her how he felt.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and he places his hands around her waist. They brough each other in close for a passionate kiss. This kiss wasn't like all the other ones they shared. Those were usually short little kisses of affection that most couples just starting to get to know each other do. This one was intense, passionate, and even a little lustful when their hands started roaming over each others bodies. Saito had to pull himself together before he got lost in that kiss and went farther then he wanted to.

"Siesta...I didn't just want to tell you how much I loved you. I also wanted to show you how much I love you" as Saito reaches inside one of his pouches and pulls out a small black box. He gets down on one knee and opens the box. Inside the box is a beautiful ring. A platinum band with 5 different colored diamonds in it. Siesta couldn't believe how beautiful the ring was and was about to burst with happiest when she knew what he was going to ask her.

"Siesta, since you helped me recover and gave me a place to be. I have grown to love you more and more each day. I can't picture my life without you in it and I want you to be in my life forever. Will you marry me?" Saito asks Siesta tears streaming down her faces as he asks her to marry him.

"YES SAITO! YES! I will defintely marry you!" Siesta says not holding back her tears and embracing him as tight as she could, not ever wanting to let go.

"Would you do me the honor of wearing this then, my beautiful fiance?" Saito asks Siesta. She realizes she was so excited he never even put the ring on her finger.

"It would be my honor future husband" Siesta says half joking with him but fully excited he wanted to marry her. She knew how many other women wanted Saito and it used to make her nervous. Knowing that he loved her just as much made all that worry disappear and replace it with nothing but happiness. She would be with Saito forever no matter what that meant or what she had to do to be by his side.

"Can you do me a favor Siesta?" asks Saito. "I want you to train with the knights when I'm not here. It would make me feel a hundred times better if you were not only with some knights while I wasn't here but also that you learned how to defend yourself even if it's just a little bit. Then once you are trained enough, when I leave for monster hunting or a mission that isn't secret you can accompany me and we won't have to be apart." Saito asks her

"Yes Saito, I will train with the knights while you are gone if you will promise me to train me when you are here and that you will always come back to me." Siesta says to Saito

"I promise I will always come back to you Siesta. No matter what, nothing will ever keep me from getting back to you." Saito says. Looking deep into her soul so she knows he means every word of it.

"Then lets go back to the shelter so I can tell my family the good news! I want to start planning our wedding right away!" Siesta says making Saito smile.

"I can't wait to marry you Siesta. Lets go back. I need to get ready to leave for Albion too." Saito says

As they get back to the shelter Siesta runs up to her family. She shows them the ring and tells them what just happened. Everyone is very excited and shouts of joy can be heard coming from where she is talking to her family. Jessica comes right up to Saito and gives him a big hug.

"Looks like you are going to offically become family now Saito." Jessica says to him "Now Siesta will be really mad if you send us girls at the inn more lingerie" Jessica chuckles at him.

"Yeah, i'm probably going to have to get you guys something different the next time I travel. Unless of course Siesta is there and she picks out something like that for you guys" Saito laughs knowing that is never going to happen.

As the congratulations die down from the villagers there are obviously some people who don't think this is good news. Lily doesn't seem to thrilled with the idea of Saito and Siesta getting married. Thinking that Siesta was just trying to tie him down before he could find someone he loved more then her. Kirche was a little upset because she never really got to spend time with Saito. At first it was Louise who always kept him away and now that she knew he was alive and well it hurt knowing he was already in love with someone. Momo was conflicted, it was always nice to see two people in love but she was starting to see him in a new light. Especially after seeing him for the first time in month on his Hell Stallion. She can't remember the last time she got a feeling like she did when he took off his cloak and revealed the real Saito. Guiche was happy for Saito for two reasons. First being that he was obviously happy marrying Siesta but also because now all those fair maidens Saito was wooing would now be up for grabs for Guiche. Tabitha had her same blank expression but gave a slight smile that only Saito noticed when she heard the news. Knowing that if anyone deserved to be happy it was Saito.

* * *

While Tarbes was in a festive mood...

Back at the capitol...

Princess Henrietta had just received a messenger bird from the village of Tarbes. As she retrieved the bird and began to read the letter sent to her by Saito, a very bad feeling started to form in the pit of her stomach. If everything Saito wrote was true, and she had no reason to doubt it wasn't, she had just sent her long time friend, captain and vice captain of her musket squad into enemy territory with a traitor. After going over everything Saito wrote she had no doubt that Wardes had to be the traitor. She was also fairly certain he was the one who broke Forquet out of prison. Now, he was on his way to Albion to retrieve a letter that he could use against Tristania to end any hope they have of forging an alliance with pretty much any nation. She hurried to her mother to relay the information and get her advice on what to do next.

"Your highness we need to speak, it is urgent" Henrietta says.

"Of course my daughter, what do you need to speak of?" the queen asks her daughter. Thinking she probably had news of Saito and the siege at Tarbes.

"First mother, Saito and his friends have taken the Fortress at Tarbes."

"That is very good to hear my daughter but we expected Saito to succeed so what did you need to talk about that is urgent? Surely that was not it?" the queen asks

"No mother, after Saito left he was traveling with some of the people he made friends with at the academy like Guiche, Tabitha, etc... when they were resting on their way to Tarbes the academy students told him about Viscount Wardes. He did not take a vacation to visit Louise. He went to the academy, sent in a commoner to get Louise and told her you gave him a mission to track Saito down." Henrietta says to the queen. This caused a little concern on the queen face because she had only sent Robert and his spy team to find Saito.

"Not only that but the only time Viscount Wardes would talk to any of the people from the academy when they departed were questions about Saito. His accomplishments, training, experience and he even knew things about Saito that were never included in any reports given out here like how he was the one who actually captured Forquet. Additionally, before Saito and his friends arrived at the village of Tarbes, a messenger bird was sent from the capitol to the Duke of Tarbes and he immediately attacked the village. My guess would be Viscount Wardes warned him of Tarbes and he launched a preemptive strike but at the very least there was another traitor in our court meeting when we discussed Reconquista." the princess says to the queen.

This is making the queen very nervous. She knew a lot of nobles were unhappy with some of the changes she wanted to make and many of them were down right despicable but she didn't have the support she needed yet to get rid of them. A lot of that support she was counting on from the people after Saito was no longer a name the nobility could ignore. She might have to take a long, hard look at the nobility of her country and find out who really could be trusted. She thought Wardes was loyal but all the evidence said otherwise.

"I belive you are correct daughter. It seems Reconquista has infiltrated even deeper then we could have ever imagined. If Wardes is a traitor and he is on his way with Louise to get your letter back we might be in serious jeporady. I didn't want to do this this soon but we might have to tell our allies and our enemies that Saito is your Gandalfr. I wanted to wait until much later to do that because everyone will be after him once that is announced, but I don't see any other way to show we have power and keep away the traitors. First we can hope that Saito can make it to Albion and retrieve your letter. Louise and company only have a one day head start on Saito and hopefully they are still in LaRoche awaiting the airship to Albion. If not we will figure out what to do after Saito returns and gives us his report." the queen says to her, hoping to relive some of the worry and stress she can see on her daughters face.

"Very well your highness. I will send Saito a reply immediately and tell him to make all haste to LaRoche. Hopefully he can make it there, retrieve my letter, and bring that traitor Wardes to justice." Henrietta says as she runs off to send Saito back his new orders.

` _I hope Saito can help Henrietta, that girl has been through enough. Being royalty itself is such a pain and her supposed friend, Louise, acts just like every other noble around Henrietta when all she wants is a friend. I hope Saito makes it back and can be that person Henrietta needs. Someone to treat her like a normal person and not a princess`_ the queen thinks to herself.

* * *

And that's Chapter 1 (techincally 13 I guess since it a continuation of another story) Let me know what you guys think...it was obviously only about Tarbes and the queen/princesses reaction to the information Saito obtained but i'm not 100% certain where i'm going with Louise, Wardes, Forquet, Reconquista, etc...so i wanted to get the relationship with Siesta out of the way in the first chapter of my story...If you are confused on how Saito got his position or any of the things about Wardes I mentioned that you didn't read...you need to go read GatsuBerk's story Discarded...this is a continuation of that story...my story picks up right at the end of chapter 12 so go read that for reference...i'll try to release an update character sheet for Saito every once in awhile with his abilities and equipment it will become very useful when I start revealing what powers i'm going to give him for being a True Gandalfr...hope you enjoyed the start of my version of Discarded and hope you continue reading...if people like it i'll continue the story


	2. First Trip to Albion

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own anything

A/N: thanks everyone for the comments and suggestions so far...since you can only leave 1 comment per chapter i'll answer a couple of the reviews here for you guys...thanks again for reading and i'll try to keep updating this story

Also, there is a poll up on my profile for who you would like to see in the harem if I go that route...I won't promise you that how its voted is exactly who will be added but I will definitely take the poll into account.

First review answer would be for multiple people concerning Saito and Siesta: If you read GatsuBerk's original story you would remember that terms like dating and girlfriend don't exist in this world when people decide to be together in this world its basically marriage from the start...Saito kinda changed that but only with Siesta and it wasn't really fast not only for this world but in terms of story...Saito and Siesta have been together for a few months now from where I picked up the story so it's not as fast as you may think..also because of the society this world has if Siesta wasn't his wife to start she would be nothing but a mistress if anyone else where to join a harem since all the other women I might include are royalty/nobles except Jessica...i'm not ashamed to admit I want Siesta to be his wife out of nothing but bias lol...she's my favorite character from the anime.

Wargame-sama: if you think making Louise a villian is a dumb idea I don't think you enjoyed the end of GatsuBerk's original story then...the last lines of chapter 12 in his story (the end) was Louise plotting to not only hurt Saito physically but also kidnapping him, torturing him, raping him and committing treason against the court...even 1 of those actions could turn her into a traitor and villian and she was plotting much more then just that one thing at the end of his story.

OechsnerC: I appreciate the input on the story but I think your harem recommendation is too many...I was planning on 4, 5 maximum for the harem (everything is subject to change) if I do it...also kirche with colbert and louise with julio happens in just about every one of the fanfics I read so that probably won't happen...I will say though that Louise/Julio is a possibility because I hate Julio as much as Louise so they are the perfect pair in my eyes.

Tyrant Overlord Killidia: I appreciate the suggestions and I promise Ara is coming back...whether she is in the harem or not if I go that route is still up in the air but she will certainly be making her way into Saito's party at the very least.

If you are looking for a very good harem FoZ story I would suggest Autobot Rewind's FoZ: Saving Grace...that story is actually the reason I even considered making this a harem story and other then the last villian (which is only like 3 chapters) the story is fantastic!

Thanks everyone for the help/suggestions/encouragement and I hope you like the newest chapter of The Abandoned Hero

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After Saito and Siesta received their congratulations from the villagers of Tarbes, he and Siesta walked towards the house they were staying in so Saito could start preparing for his journey to Albion. There was also someone he wanted Siesta to meet. He also had to grab Derf to tell him the news. He felt bad for leaving his friend behind when he was talking to everyone, but if there was one thing Saito knew about Derf it was that he had the worst timing when it came to opening his mouth. He knew the blade would be upset but he'd get over it pretty soon, he was sure, he always thought Siesta was a better choice then Louise so he didn't see the blade being mad for too long. They went around the house to the stables so Saito could introduce Siesta to his other companion.

"Siesta, this is Dante. Dante, this is Siesta" Saito introduces Siesta to his Hell Stallion. "Siesta is going to be my wife some day soon Dante, so when we are here or she is traveling with us, I want you to protect her like you would protect me" he told Dante. Dante moved over to Siesta and bowed as well as a horse could. Siesta moved up to the horse and gently petted him.

"Wow Saito, he is amazing. Where in the world did you get a Hell Stallion?" Siesta asked him.

"Oh, I got Dante as a reward for helping a Germanian necromancer. She gave me Dante after we cleared the tower of the Dark Lord Falcon" Saito tells her.

If this had been just 1 days ago the mear mention of a female spellcaster would have Siesta wondering what she looked like, who she was, and exactly how well Saito knew her but after this morning she had no more of those concerns. She was number 1 in Saito's eyes and no one was going to take that away from her.

"What was her name Saito?" Siesta asks him

"Her name was Ara. She was very down to earth for a noble. She kind of reminded me of Tabitha. She didn't really care for rank or bloodline. She knew the spells to counter the evil dark art casters of her disciple..." ' _ **and she was easy on the eyes'**_ Saito thinks to himself but doesn't say outloud. He has noticed already Siesta not getting nearly as jealous or possessive when he was around other women but felt it best not to push his luck just yet.

"She invited me for tea next time I'm in Germania and we found a map in the Dark Lord's tower with other spots to raid for treasure, scrolls, and materials. Maybe next time I head to Germania you will be trained up enough to come join me so you can meet Ara" Saito tells Siesta.

"That sounds great Saito. I'll train really hard when you aren't here so I can join you on missions." Siesta says

"That would be great Siesta. Ara also told me I was her first friend. Apparently prodigies are not liked by their families when no one else has talents like she does. I know you two would get a long great if you met..." ' _ **and holy crap you two would look like the finalist from a miss universe paegent standing next to each other'**_ Saito thinks to himself.

While Saito knows he loves Siesta with all his heart the only two people he has ever seen to match her beauty were Ara and Henrietta. Now that he thinks about it, he seemed to be attracted to one type of woman. A type he could never hope to get back on Earth, beautiful, kind and loving. Those type of women were out of his league on Earth or atleast he thought so. He was fairly certain if those three formed a group they could take over the world just using their looks and personalities. As Saito was thinking about three beautiful women taking over the world he walked into the house to grab Derf.

"Hey partner, you've been gone a while. How is everything in the village anything interesting happen while you left me in here, alone" Derf says to him. The anger in Derf voice was very apparent to him.

"Sorry about leaving you in here Derf but there was something very important I needed to do and honestly, you have the worst timing when it comes to comments" Saito says to his trusty blade "but i've got good news for you Derf. I asked Siesta to marry me and she said yes!" Saito tells him.

"I told you partner, she is a good match for you. She took care of you when you were almost dead, spent almost every second she was awake making sure you would survive, and not to mention what a body that one has! You should be able to get plenty of kids with that one!" Derf says to Saito.

"See Derf, thats why I didn't bring you" Saito laughs at him "but thank you for being happy for me. Now we need to prepare for departure to Albion." Saito straps Derf on his back and heads towards Dante to put his armor on. Siesta is still by Dante talking to him. Saito can hear her telling Dante to please keep him safe so he can return to her. ' _ **I don't think she will ever stop worrying about me no matter how strong I get'**_ Saito laughs to himself, glad that someone cares this much about him.

"Siesta, I need to put Dante's armor on. Would you like to help me? he asks Siesta.

"I would love to Saito. Dante is very smart and I would love to know how to take care of him. He keeps my beloved safe so I want to take care of him too." Siesta says to him.

After Saito and Siesta armor Dante and Saito finishes putting on his gear, belt, pouches, armor and weapons, he and Siesta start heading towards the tower where the messenger bird should appear. Saito knows the messenger bird should be here very soon and wants to get this mission over with so he can get back here and spend some time relaxing with Siesta before he gets sent off somewhere else by the princess. Just as they are arriving at the tower he sees the bird flying in. Saito gets the letter from the princess and opens it up. As soon as he does his eyes go wide with shock and he realizes he needs to make it to LaRoche as fast as possible.

"Sorry Siesta, I have to leave immediately. People are in danger and I need to go help them" he tells her. He gives her a big hug, a passionate kiss, tells her he loves her and then jumps on Dante taking off at a speed Siesta didn't realize a horse could get to.

"I love you Saito! Please be careful!" Siesta yells to him as he is riding away. ' _ **Now I need to find some of the knights and start training. I was complaining about nothing to do since Saito wasn't here and I wasn't a maid anymore. Now, I have something to take up that time and I'll work extra hard so that I can be with Saito when he leaves. I'm tired of being left behind, I'll do whatever it takes to stand by Saito's side**_ ' she thinks to herself as she goes off to find some of the knights.

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Guiche, Tabitha, Kirche and Mon-Mon saw Saito leave at a break neck pace and wondered what was going on. They started moving towards the tower hoping to ask Siesta why Saito left so suddenly and quickly.

"Siesta, why did Saito just take off like that?" Guiche asks her.

"I'm not 100% sure about that. All he said to me was that people were in danger and he needed to go." Siesta tells Guiche

"Did he tell you where he was going or why he was headed there?" Kirche asks Siesta.

Siesta looks at her with a mischevious grin on her face. She was never one to tease others but after how much Kirche was hanging all over Saito she decided she needed to get a little payback. She lifts her left hand up to her chin making sure Kirche can see the engagement ring Saito bought for her. She wasn't sure how much it cost because she didn't think much about jewelery being a commoner but she was pretty sure she could trade this ring for a house and get some change back.

"I'm not quite sure where my future husband went Kirche" she says. You could tell Kirche winced a little bit when she said future husband. "All I know is the princess sent him to Albion to get something for her." she says

"He must be headed to LaRoche then. That's the closest port to get to Albion, and seeing how much of a hurry he was in, I'm guessing that is where he is getting on an airship" says Guiche. "Well what do you say guys? Do you want to go help Saito or head back to the palace?" Guiche asks

"From the urgency that Saito took off I'm guessing he could probably use some help but can we even catch up to him while he is riding Dante?" Mon-Mon asks and looks at Tabitha

"No. Dante is faster then Sylphid" Tabitha says to her

"Well luckily for us the airships that depart to Albion are on a set schedule so as long as we make it to LaRoche by the time the next one departs we shouldn't fall behind Saito" Kirche says to everyone

"Do you know when the airships depart Kirche?" Mon-Mon asks her.

"The next one should depart at 6 p.m. which gives us almost 6 hours to get there. Do you think we can make it to LaRoche in that time Tabitha?" Kirche asks her friend. She knows that if it was just those two they could easily make it but wasn't sure how much two other people would slow sylphid down.

"Yes." says Tabitha

"Alright everyone, get anything you need for a trip to Albion and meet back her in 30 minutes." Guiche tells everyone. They all look at him like part of his body just fell off. "Why is everyone staring at me like that?" he asks

"Idiot, we just came her for a battle and rested all night. None of us packed any luggage we all have everything we need already lets get moving!" Mon-Mon tells Guiche.

* * *

It didn't take long for Saito to get to LaRoche. What would have normally taken a dragon like Sylphid about 4 hours to reach, only took Dante about 2 1/2 hours to reach. Ara wasn't kidding when she said Hell Stallions are different when they have a master. It felt like Saito was back in Japan riding down the highway in a convertable with the speed Dante was traveling. As he got closer to the city he slowed his pace a bit in case he encountered travelers on the road. He certainly didn't want to trample anyone to death which wouldn't be hard for Dante.

He was still about a mile from the city when he saw a cloaked figure walking down the same road as him coming towards him. At this distance you normally wouldn't be able to make out any features of someone covered in a long cloak with the hood up but the True Gandalfr runes had done something incredible to his body and ability that he still wasn't even quite sure about. There was definetly something different about him that he noticed because he could clearly make out that the figure about 1/2 a mile from him was without a doubt the criminal Forquet. He captured her before but the princess' letter said that Forquet was broken out of jail by a wind magic user. That was almost certainly Wardes so he had to catch her and get some information at the very least.

Forquet had no idea about Saito's new look. The last time she saw him, he was nothing but a scrawny, lost child who just got lucky capturing her. She had no idea the incredibly imposing and intimidating warrior, clad in all black, on top of a Hell Stallion would be Saito. She couldn't even remember anyone ever riding a Hell Stallion let alone without any reigns. ' _ **He/She must be an expert horse rider and one hell of a warrior to ride a Hell Stallion like that'**_ she thinks to herself.

Saito notices that Forquet is still walking right towards him even though they are close enough now for her to make out some of this features. ' _ **ahh thats right she hasn't seen me in months and probably has no idea this is my look nowadays'**_ Saito thinks to himself _ **. 'Well at least it should make capturing her that much easier**_ ' then Saito realizes he has a serious problem on his hands. He can't exactly capture her and make haste to his mission. He doesn't have time to tie her up, question her, and take her to the jail. He needs to get to Albion as fast as possible and doesn't have any time at all to waste. ' _ **Well it looks like its, get as much information as I can while I can from her, kind of day'**_ Saito thinks to himself.

Saito can see she is wary of him and is clutching on to her wand underneath her robe. As soon as he passes Forquet and she turns her head forward he dismounts Dante like a true professional, puts his knee in the small of Forquets back so she arches her back, hooks his left arm in her elbows behind her and snatches the wand out of her hand with his right hand.

"Hey Forquet, long time no see" Saito says to her.

"Who the hell are you?!" she demands.

"Oh, thats right, you haven't seen me in my new look have you?" Saito puts his head over her left shoulder and pulls his hood down. Forquets eyes go wide realizing who just caught her. "So are you going to tell me what I want to know or am I just going to kill you here and leave your corpse for someone to find?" he can see the shock on her face when he said that.

Forquet didn't know what to think she was so taken aback. She might not have known very much about Saito but she definitely remembered him being kind and never wanting to resort to violence unless absolutely necessary. Here he was now, immediately threatening to kill her if she didn't answer his questions. She had no idea what happened to him after she was caught but something had clearly changed this boy into a man.

"Why did Wardes break you out of prison?" Saito asks her. She can't contain her shock that he knows who broke her out. If he knew this much what else could he know. "I don't have time for games Forquet. Answer my question. NOW!" Saito demands

"Missy I would answer the mans questions. He isn't in a mood to be playing around right now." says Derf

Forquet had no real alligence with Wardes or the rest of the Reconquista. She was blackmailed into spying for them with the threat of Tiffania's and the orphans lives.

"He broke me out so I could cause a distraction for him in LaRoche. He needed to get Louise away from her escort so he could make his way to Albion with no interfernce from her guards or familiar" she says to him.

"Were you successful?" Saito asks her. Now she is nervous because that is exactly what she was.

"Yes, I delayed the musket squad and Louise's familiar. Once Wardes was on the ship with Louise I made my escape. That is all he told me about what he was doing in LaRoche" she tells him.

"I know you are a fallen noble Forquet but why would you join a group like Reconquista? I thought even thieves had at least some honor or maybe thats just a saying from my homeland?" he asks her

"I was blackmailed into helping Reconquista. I didn't join on my own free will" she says to him. Saito is curious now. He knows she could just be lying but maybe she isn't and will help him even more if he can work out a deal for her.

"What if I could get you a deal to drop your previous charges if you went back to Reconquista and spied for me and Tristania?" he asks her

"No I can't do that" she says

"So I guess its off to prison you go then" he says to her.

"NO! Its not that I don't want to, I can't!" she cries out.

"What do you mean you can't? You didn't have a problem spying for them. I figured you would try to lie to me to get out of going back to prison" he tells her

"I can't because the leader of Reconquista, Cromwell, has a magic ring he stole from the Water Spirit. It can bring the dead back to life as puppets and can even take over the mind of the living just by being near him when he uses it. If I go back and he finds out I'm spying for you, he will kill me then go and kill Tiffania and all the orphans he is holding over my head!" she tells him

Saito is very confused about this. Could it really be that Forquet has been stealing to support and orphanage? She did only steal from nobles and he had even seen her get upset with the way some of the staff were treated when she works at the academy. He decided he was going to give her a second chance. This probably wasn't the best idea he ever had but knew that if she was telling the truth it would definitely be worth it and if she was lying he could easily catch her again if need be.

"Okay Forquet here's what I'm going to do. I'll take your word for it and you will trust me and do something for me. I want you to go to the village of Tarbes in Tristania and find Siesta. You remember her from the academy right?" she nods her head saying she remembers her. "Go find Siesta, tell her I sent you, she will help you cut your hair and dye it a different color. Your green hair really sticks out and many people in Tristania will recognize you. After you two are done I want you to write every piece of information about Reconquista you can remember down for me. Names, plans, hideouts, magic items they have, anything you can remember at all. Then when I return from Albion, me and you are going to go get your friend Tiffania and her orphans and bring them to Tristania. They will be safe in the village of Tarbes now that the citizens and loyal knights have taken control. If you are telling the truth I will even pay for an orphanage to be built for you and your friend. All I want you to do is write what you know down and occasionally in the future you do some spy work for me. Does that sound like a deal to you?" Saito asks her.

Forquet can't really believe her ears _ **.'Does Saito really have that much authority?**_ ' she thinks. As Saito releases her to think about his proposal she finally gets a good look at him up close. He has definitely matured in the few months since she last seen him. He isn't a scrawny kid in over his head anymore. He has definitely put on some muscle and how much is kind of a suprise but not only that the look in his eyes is different. He still has a gentle look to his eyes but she can also see a hard determination that wasn't there before and then she noticed it. Clasped onto his cloak was the symbol of the Royal Guard of Tristania. This meant Saito worked directly for the royal family. ' _ **Just what in the world has this kid been up to these last few months?'**_ she thinks to herself.

Now that she saw that, she realized he probably did have the ability to make a deal like this. It was just a matter of time before Reconquista had no more use of her or just wanted her gone. She knew they had no intention of letting her go. This seemed to be not only her last hope but maybe Tiffania's and the orphan's too. She decided taking Saito's deal was probably her best option if she wanted herself and Tiffania to survive.

"Alright Saito, you have a deal." she extended her hand out to shake Saito's.

"Glad we could come to an agreement Forquet. I don't really like hurting people, especially people who are trying to help others, even if I think your going about it the wrong way." Saito says to her

"Well that was my only option to take care of them and you do whatever you have to for family Saito. By the way, please don't call me Forquet. That name is dead, my name is Mathilda" she tells him.

"Very well Mathilda, start making your way to Tarbes to find Siesta. Once I have completed my task I will return to Tarbes and we plan our journey to find your friend. Try not to get caught on the way there will you. I can't do anything for you if you get caught while I am gone. No one in Tarbes should know who you are so you should be safe there but keep your head down and as low key as possible just in case until I return. I should only be a couple of days." Saito tells her. He reaches in one of his pouches and pulls out a bag of gold.

"Here is 50 gold. It should be more then enough to get you back to Tarbes. Whatever you have left you can keep. I put a note in the bag for you to give to Siesta when you see her so she knows I sent you. Don't lose it." He then jumps back on Dante and starts riding off towards LaRoche. He turns back to Mathilda, "don't make me regret this Mathilda, you do not want to make me angry anymore. I am not the helpless boy I used to be."

Mathilda feels a chill run down her spine knowing he is not joking. She still isn't sure what happened to this boy but one thing is certain. He is not to be messed with, you can feel it radiating off him, an aura of confidence and power she had never seen before.

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Well there is chapter 2 for you guys! I know it's been bascially nothing but Saito but we will be getting to everyone else in the next chapters...not sure how soon it will be but Ara will be making a come back in the not too distant future...at the very least she will be in Saito's party for magic support so she will be included in the story regardless. Hope you guys enjoyed it and thanks again for the reviews, favorites and follows.


	3. Waiting on a Ride

Disclaimer: I do not own anything

A/N: I appreciate all the suggestions and feedback everyone has been giving me...also thanks for so many people voting on the poll right after I posted it... I'm going to turn this into a harem fanfic for sure now, all thats left is to figure out which characters everyone wants to see in it, from the voting looks like Henrietta and Tiffania are definitely the favorites so far... I'll keep the poll up for a few weeks at least since the harem members will be added slowly... Honestly my big hang up on this story so far is what to do about Louise... I can't stand her and GatsuBerk already did a good job in the original story to make her a villian very easily... I would b posting more if I could just figure out what to do with that character... Also i'd like to know if i'm describing things in too much detail or not enough...I have already started leaving things out like him taking Dante to the stables, disarmoring him, and things like that every time they go somewhere... Also should I skip more time between some chapters... I've only been skipping a couple hours here and there at most so wanted to know if u wanted the story to go farther faster... Well enjoy this next chapter and hopefully i'll figure out what to do with the pink haired, tiny, useless mage

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A few minutes after leaving Mathilda Saito arrived in the town of LaRoche. He needed to find the airship docks and get to Albion as soon as possible but he had never been here before. He took a quick look around the town and saw what looked like docks at the top of a cliff next to an enormous tree.

After finding the dock location, he was about to start scanning the street for the quickest path there but before he could drop his gaze down very far he noticed an enormous creature at the top of the cliff that looked like it was staring off towards where Albion should be.

Saito wasn't completely sure but he was pretty confident that was Louise's familiar Anima. He had never met the chimera before but after the description the queen gave him and the highly unlike chance of there being two mages with a chimera familiar, he was sure he'd found Louise's familiar. Now he needed to find Agnes and Julia.

He started scanning down the cliff slowly, checking every inch he could with his sight while scanning down the ramp that lead down from the top of the cliff. After scanning the entire ramp to street level and then everything he could on street level, he still didn't see the musket squad members.

"Of course it wouldn't be that easy" Saito says to no one in particular. "I have to find a way on an airship now. I don't have time to sit around looking for them" he starts walking towards the airship docks to find passage to Albion.

As he is making his way towards the air docks, he spots a familiar figure standing on what looks to be a lookout for enjoying the view of the sea. When he gets closer, he can see that hidden behind one of the pillars is the other person he was looking for.

"Hey Julia, Agnes, why are you guys just standing here admiring the view? Shouldn't you have left for Albion already? Wardes and Louise are already on their way why didn't you board a different airship and go after them already?" Saito asks the two as he walks up.

"DON'T YOU THINK I'D BE ON MY WAY THERE ALREADY IF I COULD!" Agnes screams at Saito "I'm sorry Saito I'm just a little frustrated and shouldn't have yelled at you like that. It seems I've had nothing but bad luck recently and I can't catch a break. Right when we were about to board For-" Saito puts his hand up to interrupt

"I already know Agnes. Forquet attacked you when you were going to board the airship. You fought her and Anima destroyed her golem but while you were fighting Wardes and Louise boarded the airship without you, Julia, or Anima. Did I leave anything out?" he asks her

"How in the world did you know that already Saito? You just got here I'm assuming" Agnes asks him

"I did just get here but I have reliable sources" Saito smirks at Agnes "I also have some information you don't have but we can't talk about that right now or out here so back to my original question. Why haven't you left yet for Albion?" Saito asks again.

"That is because airships leave on a schedule and we do not have the proper authority or paperwork to force an airship to take off" she tells him "While you might be a royal guard of Tristania you don't have her majesties signature telling them you can take command of an airship, so they won't let you take one period" Agnes finishes

"Well shit, thats not good, I guess there's nothing we can do about that. Do you have a room here? Somewhere we could talk about some new information I have for you?" Saito asks her

"No, we don't have one anymore that is why we were waiting out here for the next ship. We checked out this morning thinking we were leaving on the first ship. It seemed like a waste of money to get a room for a few hours." Agnes says

"Well we need to talk somewhere private. Do you know any Inn's like that in this town? Also last questions, Is that Anima?" he points up towards the Chimera "and has he moved at all since Louise left?" Saito asks her because he noticed she hasn't moved an inch since he arrived in town.

"Well, the Inn we were staying in probably isn't the most private. They don't exactly give us a ton of money for travel expenses, but there are nicer, more private, rooms in this city. Also, yes that is Anima and no he hasn't moved at all since he let out a blood curtling roar when he realized Louise was gone." she tells him

"Alright lead the way Agnes. Julia you need to hear this also. I don't think we have to worry about Anima going anywhere. I'll tell him when we make our way up there" Saito says to them.

Agnes leads Julia and Saito farther away from the docks and down the main road. Saito notices that, unlike most of the buildings in this town that are carved right out of the moutainside, these buildings are built like normal buildings. The designs are more varied and they are progressively getting nicer and nicer.

They come up on a very nice looking Inn. The sign had a picture of a fancy looking bed with an eagle about to land on it. It was called the Eagle's Nest. When they stepped in the building every eye in there went straight to Saito. He seems to keep forgetting he doesn't look like a friendly guy at all. Covered head to toe in all black, only some of his Germanian black dragon armor can be seen peaking out from under his cloak. Not to mention all the stares he gets from Dante. It makes it kind of hard to go undercover.

' _ **Maybe I should start wearing a different colored cloak? I'm definitely not taking my armor off but I think the all black get up is a little too noticeable' haha**_ Saito laughs to himself wondering how in the world he got the color black to stand out so much. He walks right up to the counter.

"Hello sir, my name is Stephanie, welcome to the Eagle's Nest, how may I help you?" the receptionist asks Saito

"I need 1 room, just for today. I won't be here long but I don't want to wait outside. I need some privacy" Saito tells the receptionist at the desk.

"We have 2 kinds of rooms available that fit your needs sir. One is 5 gold for the night, the other is 20 gold for the night sir. The one for 5 gold is a 3 room suite, it has a master bedroom, a bathroom and a small room for a servant or guest. The one for 20 gold is a 5 room suite with a master bedroom with a bathroom attached, 2 extra servants rooms with a bathroom attached in between the two servants rooms and also a personal servant from our Inn who will take care of whatever you need while you are here. Which one would you prefer sir?" the receptionist asks Saito

"I'll take the one for 5 gold." He reaches in his pouch, pulls out 7 gold and puts it on the counter "Here's a little extra for being so helpful and please don't let anyone disturb me while I rest please" he says with a smile to her.

"Very well sir, I will show you to your room" she says

The follow the woman up the stairs to the second floor and she leads them to the very last door on the left of the hall. It is the only door on this floor that doesn't have another door close by across the hallway. The receptionist gave a very polite goodbye and if you need anything i'll be at the desk and left them alone. Right after they entered the room Saito took a look around. It certainly was a nice room and everything seemed to be safe. He took a seat on the sofa and asked Agnes and Julia to join him.

"Ok so first off, Viscount Wardes is a member of Reconquista." Agnes and Julia can't believe what they are hearing. There is no way the captain of the Griffon Squad would be a traitor. "I can already tell by the looks on your faces that you don't believe me" Saito says to them "but I assure you, it is a fact. The princess and queen agree with me. The reason I came here so fast was because of the mission the princess sent you on." he tells them

"If Wardes really is a traitor, we might be in really big trouble. Louise wasn't suppose to tell any of us where we were meeting Prince Wales until we were on the airship just in case something happened to one of us in town. I have no doubt she has already told Wardes and we have no idea where we are suppose to meet him at." Julia says to him.

Agnes is still trying to process Wardes being a traitor and what that means for Tristania. He was Captain of the Griffon Squad and was privledged to a lot of very sensitive information. If he was giving that information to Reconquista it could be devistating for Tristania.

"The princess told me where to meet Prince Wales but based on the location we need to reach and them having a 6 hour head start on us it is not looking good for us right now. I assume they will be traveling by horseback, well normal horseback, and that might be the advantage we need to maybe catch up to them." Saito tells them

"Are you talking about your Hell Stallion Saito?" Agnes asks him.

"Yes I'm talking about Dante. He is particular about who rides on him but i'm confident that he will allow both of you to ride on him if you just meet him. The question is can you ride Dante? It will be all 3 of us and you will have to hold on for your life because we will be moving very, very fast by horse standards." Saito asks him

"Julia and I should be fine on Dante Saito. Like you, we were both raised as commoners and have been around horses all our lives" she tells him

"Okay, I'll go introduce you to Dante and I would like to go talk to Anima. I heard what kind of demon he was and from what I understand about chimera's they are very intelligent and loyal. I want him to know whats going on and I kind of want to meet my replacement" he chuckles at that last part.

Although things didn't end great between him and Louise, he knew that her father was the one to blame and he didn't hold any of it against Louise. He was glad she got such a strong familiar to protect her.

"After you two meet Dante you might want to get some rest. That fight must have taken a lot out of you." Saito says to them.

"Actually, Anima ended that fight pretty quick and I think it's best one of us is with you when you meet Anima. He isn't exactly the friendly type. He is a demon after all." Agnes says to him

"Do you think maybe he isn't friendly because you just treat him like a demon?" Saito asks her "People treated me like crap because I was a summoned commoner. It certainly didn't make me like any of them" he says

"You might have a point but you are still a human. It's a demon. I've never heard of a good demon." she says

"Actions mean more to me then race." says Saito "Well let's go meet Dante and then I'll meet Anima."

After taking Agnes and Julia to meet Dante, Saito sets off for the docks to meet Anima. They still have a couple hours until the airship leaves. On his way to the docks he notices Sylphid landing just outside the entrance and his four friends from the academy getting off her back.

"What are you guys doing here?" Saito asks

"Is that any way to greet your help darling?" Kirche says to him

"We heard people were in danger and came to help Saito. You don't expect us to sit around while you save the day and get all the glory do you?" says Guiche

"Believe me I'm not here for glory. I'm just helping the princess. Well you guys must be tired I got a room for the day in town. It's called the Eagle's Nest there's enough room for all of you to rest for a little while. The next airship doesn't leave for a couple hours. I'm going to meet Anima, here is the key for the room." he hands them the key and starts to walk away.

"Saito, we should probably go with you. Anima isn't exactly the friendl-" Saito interrupts Guiche.

"Yeah-Yeah I know what you are going to say. He's a demon, he isn't friendly, blah, blah, blah. I'll be fine Guiche go get some rest. You will need it when we get to Albion." and with that Saito went on his way to the docks.

"Hello Anima, it's nice to meet you. I'm Saito, I used to be Louise familiar until her father was ashamed of me being her familiar. I'm glad she summoned you though. You seem to be more then strong enough to protect her." Saito says to the chimera.

 _ **'Hmmm this human is interesting. He isn't terrified of me and is grateful I'm strong enough to protect my master. But that stupid Wardes took my master and he will pay for that!'**_ Anima thinks to herself.

"Viscount Wardes is a traitor and took your master Anima." Saito says. He can tell from his time monster hunting that this demon is not happy he said that.

"Don't worry we will get her back. We are leaving on the next airship. I will be able to make up a lot of ground on Dante and from what I've read about chimera's you are pretty fast yourself. I know what it is like to fail your master. I won't let that happen to you too. Wardes will pay for what he has done." he says

 _ **'I like this human and now I get to kill that damn Wardes because of him. If it wasn't for my master he would be my favorite human'**_ says Anima

After Saito had a few more words with Anima, he headed back to the Inn to catch up the rest of them on what was going to happen. They were going to be a little behind him again because Sylphid can't keep up with Dante and they couldn't afford to slow down. They didn't do a little rearranging of personel and decided Agnes was still going to go with Saito but instead of Julia going with them Kirche would take her place. Having Tabitha would have been ideal for Saito but she wasn't going to leave Sylphid.

* * *

As soon as the airship lands, Wardes gets Louise off of it as fast as possible. He would prefer to have all the extra time he needed to complete his mission. He knew there would be Reconquista soldiers not far behind him to clean up the remnents of the royal family after his task was completed.

"Come Louise, we must get to Prince Wales as soon as possible. If we were attacked in town its very possible they are on their way here to steal what we are trying to get for the princess." Wardes lies to Louise

"Wouldn't it be better to wait for Anima and the others? I don't think they could defeat Anima." Louise says to him.

"Well, they may have another way to get here. We can't really take the chance can we my Louise?" Wardes tries the charms on Louise. It always made her blush and listen to pretty much what ever he said

"Ok Viscount Wardes" Louise says with a blush on her cheeks.

"I'll go get us some horses and we will make haste to Alabaster" Wardes says

 _ **'Well that was even easier then I thought it would be. That girl still has no self confidence what so ever. If I can just spend a little more time with her she should be easily corruptable. I still have no idea what Cromwell has in store for such a useless mage'**_ Wardes thinks to himself.

* * *

Meanwhile in Germania...

Ara was sitting in the study looking over the Square level offensive Dark Arts spell she got in the tower of the Dark Lord Falcon. Being able to find an offensive spell was great but it being a square level Dark Arts spell was like a miracle happening. There were not many offensive Dark Arts spells and ver few are square level. She was probably the only person she knew who was even capable of casting this spell and that was only because of her prodigal level of affinity towards the Dark Arts.

"I can't believe I finally got a new spell!" Ara says excitedly. "It makes it even more worth it that its an offensive spell. I wish Saito didn't have to leave so soon. We could have went to some of those other places on the map we found. It figures, I finally make a real friend and he leaves right as I start getting comfortable. I hope Saito comes back for tea like I asked. He's probably pretty busy though."

*sigh* "Hmmm... maybe I should move into that tower we conquered. I'm done with school and my father doesn't want me wasting away here making potions but I guess technically half of it is Saito's. I already got rid of the bad spells around the area and Saito and I killed all the creatures inside. I wonder if the traps reset? I'll wait a couple weeks and see if Saito comes back. It would be better to have him there in case anything reset." Ara says. She hope Saito will come back to help her soon. She already misses her friend and when she remembers about walking in on him getting out of the bath, she gets a dark red blush on her face and her nose starts to bleed a little.

 _ **'oh crap... why does this happen every time I think about that!'**_ she screams internally.

* * *

Back at the academy...

Old Osmound and Colbert are in the headmasters office talking about the students who have been absent for a couple days now. Spring break was over and 4 students had yet to return to the academy. It was the 2nd days in a row that Tabitha, Kirche, Guiche and Mon-Mon were not here.

"While I could see most of them skipping a day or two here or there. I would never expect Tabitha to skip any days of school. Whenever she has been called home past normal school days, she has always given advanced warning. Also, I don't think the others would intentionally skip two days in a row" Colbert says to the headmaster.

"I agree with you Jean but there is nothing we can do for now. They have not missed enough days to warrant a letter to their families about their whereabouts." Osmound says to him.

"I still think something is wrong headmaster. If it was one of them I would just write it off but all 4 of them at the same time? That's not a coincedience." Colbert says to him.

"I understand Jean but we still need to wait a couple more days before we can offically do anything about it. Let's hope they are just having a good time and lost track of the days. I heard they were headed to Germania. They sure aren't nearly as stuck up as the nobles in Tristania the young ones probably got overwhelmed with all the excitement. They will be fine Jean." the headmaster says

"I hope you are right headmaster but I got a gut feeling you are not. I hope they are alright." Colbert says

* * *

At the village of Tarbes...

Mathilda had been walking for a few hours now towards the village of Tarbes. She didn't have much trouble getting to the village and only really had one scare on the way. A little over an hour after she left Saito, she was walking down the road to Tarbes and spotted Tabitha's familiar flying towards her.

First thing she thought of was to pull out her wand and start attacking. She had just made a deal with a royal guard of Tristania and could finally be out of the clutches of Reconquista. There was no way she was going to get caught before Saito returned and made sure that deal went through.

Then she realized that these were the few people Saito actually even considered somewhat friends when he was at the academy. Attacking his friends right after making a deal with him probably wouldn't make her look very good and he might call it off just based on that.

She knew she had to hide and hope they passed by her and didn't pay her any mind. Luckily for her, they were flying and seemed to be in a pretty big hurry. She slowed her pace and kept her head down. They didn't even look in her direction much to her delight.

After another few hours of walking she finally came to the village of Tarbes. She was somewhat upset at the state of the village. She might have been a theif but she never stole from commoners. She kind of related to them in a way. Her families honor had been stolen from them in a political scheme.

Her family was proud and true to their people but nobles are a corrupt breed for the most part. That is why she stole from them and used the money to help Tiffania and the orphans. So seeing this village pretty much destroyed left her with a feeling of guilt. She knew the Duke of Tarbes was a member of Reconquista and even though she never gave any intelligence on this village to the Duke she still felt somewhat responsible for this happening.

She was getting a second chance in helping Saito. She knew what he had already done and knew this was just the beginning. She hoped by helping Saito in his journey she could make up for some of the things she had to do to survive in her life. After walking around for a bit she saw what looked like a mage's tower.

*knock - knock* "Come in" a man says from behind the door

"Hello, my name is Mathilda. I'm looking for Siesta, Saito sent me to see her." Mathilda says to the man

Jacob looks up at the woman. He may have only known Saito for a few months but he never remembered seeing this woman with him. Saito did show up with 4 mages he had never met before. Saito said they were his friends and they were invaluable in bringing down the Duke.

However, Jacob was a more cautious person then that. He knew Saito had many enemies and wasn't going to risk Siesta to someone he didn't know.

"My name is Jacob. May I ask what business you have with Siesta?" Jacob asks the woman eyeing her up with suspicion

"I know this is going to make me sound suspicious but it's private and I can only tell Siesta." Mathilda says to him

"Okay then you won't mind an escort then will you? Oh and give me your wand. I know you're a mage and I won't let you get anywhere near Siesta with a wand." Jacob says to her

"You are very protective of commoners for a mage Jacob." she says

"Rank means nothing only the choice you make in life. It's something I've always believed in and meeting Saito just made me believe that even more." Jacob says to Mathilda.

"I think you and me are going to get along just fine Jacob." Mathilda says smiling at him.

She might not be someone you should look up to but she felt very similar to the way Jacob did. It just seemed to her that she harbored a little more resentment towards the nobility then Jacob did.

After she said that, she handed her wand over to Jacob. They exited his tower and Jacob called over two young men.

"Xavier, Samuel, can you two come with me? This woman says she has business with your cousin. I don't know her but she claims to have been sent by Saito." Jacob tells the two young teens.

"Don't worry Jacob, we will watch her. We might not be as strong as Saito but we won't let anyone hurt Siesta while we are there." Xavier says to him

"Well, I'm coming along also. I want to know what this is about and I'm not leaving this woman's side until Siesta tells me she isn't a threat." Jacob tells them.

They start heading for the house Saito and Siesta were staying in. On the way there, they come across Robert, Siesta, Robert's daughter, and Felix meditating in front of Siesta's fathers house.

As soon as they get close everyone slowly opens their eyes and take in the calm, relaxing mood that mediation bring to them. They check their KI and make sure its stable and growing. Once Siesta sees the woman with Jacob she jumps to her feet and points at her.

"What the hell are you doing here!" Siesta screams at her.

"Calm down there Siesta." Mathilda puts her hands up to show her she isn't there to cause any trouble. "Saito sent me to come see you. There is a note in the bag of gold he gave me when we parted ways just outside of LaRoche." Mathilda explains to her.

Mathilda slowly grabs the pouch off of her waist and hands it to Jacob, who is standing right next to her staff pointed at her waist. Jacob checks inside the pouch before handing it to Siesta.

Siesta takes the pouch from Jacob and pulls out the note from inside. She unfolds the paper and starts to read it.

 _ **'Dear Siesta,**_

 _ **I hope Mathilda went about finding you the right way and nothing bad happened. She was spying for an enemy organization against her will. They were holding orphans lives over her head. I believe she is telling the truth and I made a deal with her. She will write down all the information she knows on some paper I have in the house. After she is done, I want you to take those papers and hide them until I come home. Once she has completed that, dye her hair and give her a haircut please. No one in Tarbes should know who she is and she can take the extra bed in the house for now. I will be home in a few days Thank You Siesta**_

 _ **Love,**_

 _ **Saito**_

Siesta folds the letter back up and sticks it back into the pouch. She throws the pouch back to Mathilda and tells Jacob thanks, she can take it from here.

"Well Mathilda, it looks like me and you have some writing to do before we get you settled in. Welcome to the village of Tarbes. This will be your home for at least the next couple of days." Siesta tells her

"Thank you for having me Siesta. I hope this is the start of a great friendship." Mathilda says to Siesta

With greetings and pleasantries exchanged they start heading for the house Saito and Siesta have been sharing. Xavier and Samuel tried to follow but were waved off by Siesta simply saying she wasn't in any danger. They didn't like the idea because Saito asked everyone to watch out for strangers coming to the village but they trusted Siesta's judgement.

* * *

After catching everyone up to speed on the mission Saito and company boarded the airship headed for Albion. Saito knew he was going to be up against the cloak once he landed. That's why he gave the man who unloads the horse 5 gold to get Dante off first. He need speed, and lots of it, if this mission wasn't going to end in complete failure.

"Alright everyone we are here. Agnes and Kirche you two come with me. We will go meet up with Anima and Dante and head out immediately for Alabaster. Tabitha, as soon as you can get everyone on Sylphid, head in the direction I told you. It isn't as great a distance as it is from Tarbes to LaRoche so you shouldn't be too far behind us but every second counts. I hope to have everything secured and wrapped up by the time you arrive. Just in case though, once you get close to the church, start scanning the area for anyone trying to escape. We will wait at the church for you to arrive or if we are forced from there, we will head back in the direction we came and run into you eventually." Saito says to them.

Saito helps Agnes then Kirche onto Dante then jumps in front. Kirche wraps her arms around Saito's waist like a vise grip.

"Kirche, I-I unde-understand you don't wan-want to fall bu-but I-I can't breathe" he barely manages to get out.

"Oh I'm sorry darling, I just got too excited to ride on this magnificent creature." Kirche says.

Tabitha noticed that she was obviously lying and she just wanted to hold on to Saito. It was unlike Kirche not to be so forward, especially with Saito. She wondered what was going on with her friend.

"Alright Saito we will be right behind you. Hurry up and catch up to that traitor." Guiche says to him

"See you guys in a couple hours." Saito says as he, Kirche and Agnes take off on Dante. None of them still have any idea how a horse can move so fast. Even one that size.

Kirche keeps her hands tight around Saito's body, leans into him and rests her head on his back.

 _ **'I wonder if my attraction to him is because I've actually watched and felt him go from a boy to a man. Maybe it's because he looks at my body like a trophey but only for a second before he gives me his attention while every other boy just stands there drooling. And what is this weird feeling I'm getting. I usually just like to play with boys until they are dancing in the palm of my hand but I don't want to do any of that with Saito.'**_ Kirche thinks to herself.

 _ **'I wonder what has gotten into Kirche. She has always been kind of clingy but it has been a different kind of clingy the last couple days. Instead of hugging my head into her chest like a bear she has been getting very close without actually hugging me. It's almost like she is just trying to get closer to me without being her usual overly sexual self. Maybe me getting engaged finally got her to give up. It's not a secret to me that I definitely find her atractive but it's hard to get over the non-virgin thing. It's just how I was raised. Not that I know for certain she isn't but from the way she acts she can't be right?'**_ Saito thinks to himself

After a while of riding and some contemplative internal monologue from Saito and Kirche they are almost at Alabaster.

"Ok guys we are close. Let's dismount Dante before we leave the forest and get prepared. We all need to assume we will have to fight as soon as we enter the church so be ready for anything and watch each others backs. I'll go in first, Kirche you get behind me and Agnes you bring up the rear with your musket." Saito tells them

"Ok, ready when you are Saito/darling." Agnes and Kirche say...

* * *

and there is chapter 3... I added in a couple characters to remind everyone they were still there... I hope you guys enjoyed it and I look forward to your feedback to help me make the story better... also remember I have a poll up for the story on my page... thanks for reading


	4. How to Deal with a Traitor

Disclaimer: I do not own anything

Let's get this party started...

* * *

In the church at Alabaster...

Louise and Wardes are standing in front of Prince Wales who is overseeing their wedding ceremony. No one noticed that the guard standing closest to Wardes had a silver ring with a purple gems on his left hand. While Prince Wales was going over the vows with Wardes, Louise was having her own struggle going on inside of her.

 _'WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON! Wardes is Reconquista?! He's been lying and manipulating me to?! Why can't I doing anything right now?! It's like I am a passenger in my own body, what is this?! Someone help me! Anima?! Saito?! Prince Wales?! ANYONE!_ Louise is screaming in her own mind trying anything she can to break the hold of whatever is controlling her.

Prince Wales turns to her " Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, do you take Jean-Jacques Francis de Wardes to be your lawfully wedded husband, to join with you and share all that is to come, until death do you part?"

Louise starts to open her mouth to answer. "I-I-I... I-I..." Louise stutters out.

"It seems she has a little stage fright. It is ok my Louise. There is no need to be nervous" Wardes says to her.

"Go ahead and ask again Prince Wales. I'm sure she is read-" Wardes words are interrupted by the sound of doors breaking open.

 ***CRASH* *SNAP***

* * *

Saito, Kirche and Agnes scan the outside of the church from behind the treeline. None of them notice anyone outside the church. They begin slowly sneaking their way towards one of the windows in the front of the church to get a better look inside. Once they reach the church, Saito takes a peek in the window to get an idea of the situation.

He notices Wardes and Louise standing in front of what looks like the altar, and a man standing in front of them who has to be Prince Wales based on the description the princess gave him. There are 14 knights at the end of the pews near the walls, 7 on each side. No one looks to be panicking or in distress.

Ideally, Saito would like to just shoot Wardes with his Blacktail and be done with that traitor, but there is no angle he can shoot him from that wouldn't end up with a high probability of it also hitting either Prince Wales or Louise.

 _'Well, time for plan B'_ he thinks to himself. He motions for Kirche and Agnes to stay put and keep a watch out. He gets back to Anima as fast as he can without being seen.

"Anima, I can't take out Wardes without possibily hurting some of the other people in the room. Wardes is right next to Louise and Prince Wales and I don't want to take that chance. You are strong and fast, do you think you can cover 50 feet before Wardes can harm Louise after breaking down a door?" Saito asks the chimera

The chimera looks at him like it's thinking about what he said. After a few seconds its nods one of its heads up and down in acknowledgment.

"Ok good Anima. We will be right behind you after you break down the door. Get Wardes away from Louise however you can then protect Louise. I will deal with Wardes after that if he is still able to fight." Saito tells him

Saito makes his way back to Kirche and Agnes and tells them the new plan. Once they get the new orders Saito signals Anima to charge the front doors.

* **CRASH* *SNAP***

As Anima makes contact with the doors the left door flies into the wall and splinters into a million pieces, while the right door comes completely off the hinges and flies into the back row of pews on the right side. He starts barreling right towards Wardes, who has a completely dumbfounded look on his face.

Wardes expected the others to catch up but they were here way faster then he had anticipated. He didn't expect them here for another hour and his reinforcements were still 10 minutes away. Quickly regaining his wits before that nightmarish demon was on top of him, he pulls out his sword points it towards Prince Wales while he is focused on the demon and extends his blade piercing Prince Wales heart.

Louise was snapped out of her haze by the sound of doors breaking apart. When she finally gained her senses she saw Prince Wales standing there with Wardes sword piercing right through his chest. She couldn't believe she failed yet again.

After Wardes' sword pierced through Prince Wales chest, he withdrew his sword and started to jump back to get some distance between him and the chimera. He didn't realize how much he underestimated the speed of the demon.

Just as he was about to land from his attempted escape, Anima's tail connected directly with his chest. He flew through the air and slammed into the wall at the back of the church. Blood was coming out of his mouth and ears, his vision was blurry, and he couldn't move a muscle from the blow of the angry demon.

Once Anima sent Wardes flying like a sack of potatoes he took a defensive position next to Louise to protect her from anyone else who would want to hurt his master. Saito, Kirche, and Agnes came in the broken doors right behind Anima.

Saito enters and sees Wardes slumped down against the far wall not moving an inch. He has no idea if he is alive or dead but either is fine as long as he doesn't get away. Seeing no other threats in the church he puts his Blacktail back in the holster and only keeps Derf in his hand in case of suprises. He tells Agnes and Kirche to check on Prince Wales and Louise while he goes to see if Wardes is still breathing.

As Saito gets near Wardes he kicks away his sword-wand in case Wardes is faking it. He sure he isn't, that blow from Anima might have killed Saito instantly, but to Saito's suprise he is still alive.

"Well looks like you finally got what you deserved Wardes. I'm not going to lie, I wish it was me who made you look like this. If I would have known Prince Wales was going to die regardless of the actions I took I would have just shot you right between the eyes and have been done with it. Well, no sense dwelling on the past when you have no future ahead of you. You will be dead in less then a minute, you can take that time to think about your life choices." Saito says to the still bleeding Wardes.

Saito looks over to where everyone else is to check on their situation. There is nothing anyone can do for Wardes now. He will be dead in about 1 minute from his internal injuries. Saito makes a mental note to never make Anima angry at him.

"Is there anything anyone can do for Prince Wales?" Saito asks Agnes and Kirche

"No darling, Wardes sword pierced his heart. He died before he even hit the floor." Kirche says to him

"Louise, where is the letter we were suppose to get for the princess? We can at least take that back to her and save a part of this mission." Saito says to Louise

"Right after I got the letter from Prince Wales Wardes came up to me outside and started telling me how Reconquista needed me and we were going to get married right now. I said no but he grabbed me then all I remember is a purple light and then I was standing in the church listening to Prince Wales recite wedding vows. I had the letter in the inside pocket of my jacket but it's not there any more. I think Wardes took it, go and check his pockets." Louise tells Saito

Saito walks up to Wardes who passed away while Louise was talking to Saito. Saito checks everywhere on Wardes, pants, jacket, shirt, and even in his socks. He can not find the letter anywhere. He heads back over to the others to let them know.

"He doesn't have the letter on him anywhere." Saito says to the group

"Could he have given it to someone?" Agnes asks him

"I mean that's certainly a possibility Agnes but the only ones that were in this church when we arrived where Prince Wales, Louise, Wardes and the 14 knights right here." Saito says to them.

After he finishes saying that he scans the room hoping to find the letter on the ground somewhere. Thrown into some corner from the force of Anima's attack hopefully but that is when he notices something is off.

"Hey, wait a minute, why is there only 13 knights in here? There was 14 of you when I was surveying the situation inside earlier." Saito asks the knights.

Before they can answer he notices a little bit of light coming in through the back right corner. He walks over towards it and take a look to see what it is. He sees a door that he didn't notice before and it is slightly open. He runs towards the door and throws it open to check the outside.

What he sees he did not expect. Starting to surround the church he sees at least 10 men on this side of the church trying to silently close in on the church. He jumps back inside and slams the door shut, turns towards everyone and starts giving orders.

"We are surrounded, at least 10 on my side so for arguments sake we will say they have 10 on every side. The front door is broken off and we have no way to barricade it. I will run out the front and draw their attention. Once I am outside I will call Dante to me and start attacking to throw them in disarray. Once you see the enemy is focused on me, everyone make their way outside and lend me as much support as you can without making yourself an open target. Anima protect Louise, knights I need you to protect Agnes and Kirche. Once I have the enemy numbers down everyone join in and help me finish them off. Let's go!"

Saito doesn't even wait for anyone to question his orders. As soon as he finishes telling everyone what to do he pulls his Blacktail back out and starts sprinting towards the front door of the church. Once Saito exits the church he immediately yells for Dante and takes aim with his handgun.

Everytime Saito pulls the trigger of the Blacktail an enemy knight falls to the ground dead. Blood running from under their helmets from the perfectly placed headshots Saito is performing. Once he takes out the 10 knights in front of him he quickly holsters his Blacktail and puts both of his hands on Derf. He quickly spins around to his right and releases a tornado of wind to the enemies on his right.

 ***CYCLONE SLASH*** Saito yells out as he releases his most powerful wind attack at the unsuspecting enemies. As the tornado of wind reaches them it starts cutting them to pieces with the force of the wind. It is like a million tiny blades cutting into your skin every second you are near this tornado.

Once he sees the right side is taken care of he sees Dante closing in and starts running towards the enemies on the left to get momentum to jump on Dante when he gets to him. Saito deftly jumps right into the saddle on Dante. Instead of using up his KI he lets Dante charge right through the line of enemies. Saito cuts down the ones who avoid Dante's trample.

Once Saito jumped on Dante, everyone else exited the church. They focused on the few remaining knights still alive on the right side since Saito had already killed all the knight in the center and was working his way down the left side with Dante.

"Darling really is strong isn't he? I don't think he even needed our help to take out these 40 people." Kirche says to no one in particular. She is scanning the battle and sees Saito has already handled almost all the enemies and is charging towards the remainder of the enemies near the back of the church on Dante.

"Alright Dante let's finish these guys!" Saito tells Dante. As he gets near the remaining enemies they all start to charge him hoping to overwhelm him and get him on the ground. Little did they know, Saito was planning on ending this with him on the ground any way.

Once Saito was about 20 feet away from the charging knights he stood up on Dante's saddle, grabbed Derf with both hands and jumped over Dante's head as the Hell Stallion came to an aburpt stop. Right as Saito is about to hit the ground he reversed his grip on Derf and plunged it directly into the ground.

 ***BLADE OF CHRONO!*** Saito yells as 10 pillars of earth sprout from the ground in front of the 10 remaining enemies, piercing all of them directly through the chest. Saito gets up from his kneeling position on the ground, cleans the dirt off of Derf and turns back towards the church.

All the others from the church are standing there with their jaws practically on the floor. Kirche was the only one who didn't look completely dumbfounded by what just happened. She had already seen what Saito can do in battle with his KI, she was still completely fangirling after witnessing it, but not shocked like everyone else was.

Agnes was at a loss for words. Being raised a commoner and making her way all the way to Captain of the musket squad she thought she sought out every possible way to combat magic or give her an edge in battle but what she just saw Saito do, she had never heard of or seen before in her life. She knew one thing for sure, Saito was just as strong as the queen made everyone think he was. He was not a distraction to throw off other nobles or countries, he was the real deal.

"Is everyone alright?" Saito asks everyone as he and Dante make their way towards the crowd of still stunned onlookers.

"Of course we are alright Darling. You barely left us anything to do! How am I suppose to show you how useful I am if you keep doing everything yourself?" Kirche says to him

While the knights are still at a loss for words and Kirche is fangirling over him, he gives everyone more orders so they can leave this place as soon as possible.

"Everyone, we need to gather up the bodies of the dead and burn them. The leader of Reconquista has a powerful magic ring that can bring the dead back as puppets and even take control of a person mind while they are still alive. I'm pretty sure that's what happened to you Louise. We can't take the chance of him using any of the people here against us."

Saito has them pile up the bodies in the back of the church, all except Prince Wales, when Tabitha and company arrive at the church. They dig Prince Wales a grave, place his body inside and some of his men say a few words for their fallen king. Once the final words are spoken, they cremate his remains and place a sword as a grave marker.

They ride back to the airship in relative silence. Everyone thinking about what to do next and what the next few weeks are going to bring them.

Saito just wants to get back to Siesta. He knows things are going to get very busy for him in the next couple weeks. He needs to get Tiffania for Mathilda, go see the water spirit about the ring of andvari, and go over the information Mathilda has for him about Reconquista. He knows with the death of Prince Wales, it is only a matter of time before Reconquista conquers Albion and with the amount of spies they had in Tristania, it's only logical to think they are their next target.

Louise is wondering how her life has gotten this out of control. She has no idea how to tell the princess Prince Wales died because she failed. She has never been so confused over her feelings for Saito. Yesterday she wanted to kidnap him and beat him for leaving her but when he came to save her with Anima she forgot all about that and just missed having someone reliable around when almost everyone else saw her as a failure.

All the other academy students are thinking about the fact that they have been missing from school for the last 3 days and hope the princess will help them out with their missing days so their families don't get involved.

One thought they all share is they can't wait to leave Albion behind. This country is nothing but a pain.

* * *

Back in Germania at the same time Saito and company are headed back to Roslyth...

Ara is sitting in here study, finishing up going over the new spell she aquired in the Dark Lord Falcon's tower... _'Wow this spell is powerful. I'm really going to have to be careful where I cast this and who is around when I do. It doesn't seem like this spell differeniates between friend and foe. It's just meant to kill the living.'_ Ara thinks to herself. Just as she is finishing up in her study a knock comes to the door.

"You may enter" Ara says. The door opens and in walks Ara's head butler carrying a large box.

"Lady Ara, the blacksmith you commisioned for Sir Saito's armor just brought the finished work and was hoping you could look it over for your approval to be sent." the butler tells her.

 _'Saito's armor! This is perfect I can send a message with the armor and try to get him here. I hope he's not busy right now I'm bored out of my mind just studying now. After that trip to Lord Falcon's tower I think I got the adventurer's itch or something'_ she thinks to herself

"Very well, bring it over here and i'll look over the armor." she begins carefully pulling out each piece of armor and inspecting it for imperfections. Saito already had some of the armor, these were the pieces that couldn't be crafted before he needed to return to Tristania and Ara promised she would send the rest when they were finished.

"You can tell the blacksmith everything looks magnificent. This might be the finest armor I have ever seen him make. Actually, I'll tell him myself. I also want to send a message with the armor to Saito. Tell him I will be right down after I write my letter." Ara tells the butler

She pulls out some paper and a pen and starts writing her letter to Saito, telling him her thoughts on moving to the Dark Lord Falcon's tower but she's hesitant because half is technically his, asking if he will have any time to check the other towers and locations on the map they found, and just asking to see how her friend was doing in the weeks he has been gone.

Ara hoped Saito didn't forget about her already. He seemed very genuine to Ara in the time they spent together but Ara didn't have the best interactions with other people her whole life. All of her family was mean to her except her father and they even went out of their way to make sure she had no friends at school. She didn't want to lose the first real friend she ever had plus... _'he was quite the looker. No I can't be thinking things like that. He is my first real friend that's probably why I think that. That has to be it... right...'_ she thinks to herself

After she finishes writing the letter, she heads down to the front door to tell the blacksmith she appreciated his hard work and he made quite the master piece this time. Once they have a quick chat she passes him the letter and tells him she would like that sent along with the armor to Saito in the village of Tarbes in Tristania. The blacksmith leaves and heads straight for the delivery service to send his completed armor to Saito.

* * *

On the way back to the capitol, Saito and company encountered a couple of random creature attacks. To be honest, Saito was grateful for the creature attacks. It distracted him from the fact that he couldn't help the princess on this mission. The letter had been taken, Prince Wales was dead, and Tristania was probably next for Reconquista.

He wasn't sure what the princess' and prince's relationship was truly all about but Saito could tell from the way the princess spoke about Wales she cared for him. He wasn't sure if she loved him or not but he knew she would take his death very hard. He vowed he would let the princess grieve and he would be there to support and comfort her if she needed it, not as her royal guard, but as her friend.

Saito still didn't understand the drop rate of items from monsters in this world. There was no rhyme or reason to it. The only thing that seemed consistent was everything that did drop loot always dropped something that could be used as currency whether that was gold bars, jewels, pouches of gold coin, etc he always got some form of currency.

Not that he was complaining about all the money, it still baffled him to this day why spending 500 gold at that pottery shop in the capitol when he and Siesta worked at the Inn got him treated like he spent his life savings. I mean it was 500 gold, I'm pretty sure I have like 100,000 gold in my pouches if I add up all the jewels, bars, coins, etc not to mention the number of enchanted armor and weapons I have. Maybe I shouldn't tell anyone Siesta's engagment ring was 2500 gold.

While one of the richest men in the country, unbeknownst to him, was lost in thought everyone arrived at the palace. Normally they would have seperate audiences with the queen because of how many people were in the group but they wanted to see all of them the moment they got in.

Robert came out to guide Saito and company to the audience hall. On the walk to the audience hall, Robert brief'd Saito on what they had learned since he had left about Reconquista. Well, what Robert could talk about in front of the others. Once Robert completed his brief summary to Saito they made plans to meet up for a more in depth discussion after Saito was through talking to the royal family.

Saito notices the guard standing outside as they come closer and says hi to her.

"Hello Aimee, I didn't know the musket squad guarded the doors to the audience hall now." Saito says to her

"Hello Saito, yes this is a recent change. I'm sure the princess will explain it to you." she replies

Agnes is wondering what is going on also. She was the captain of the musket squad and had no idea why Aimee was guarding the audience hall. She was suppose to be stationed on the walls of the palace keeping watch. Agnes was definitely going to have to talk to the princess as soon as this audience was over. She wanted to say something right then but she knew the princess probably had a good reason to do this so she would wait to talk to her.

Julia had kind of the same idea as Agnes but she was more reserved then her captain. She did her job very well and listened to the princess. She knew the princess would have good reason to do this and would explain it to her when she was ready to.

Aimee turns around and knocks on the door three times, opens the door and steps in. A couple seconds later she fully opens the door and announces their arrival. Once they enter the room, they notice there are only 4 people in the room.

It's a big difference from the last time they were in the audience hall. It was filled with nobles, guards and knights. Now it is just the queen, the princess, and 2 members of the musket squad stationed in the corners of the rooms for security.

Saito walks up to the throne and takes a knee. He glances at the princess on his way down and notices a small blush on her face when they make eye contact. He isn't quite sure what that means he is just dreading having to tell her what has happened over the last few days. The last thing he wants is to cause her pain but she needs to know everything that happened.

"Welcome back Saito, Louise, everyone. I'm glad to see you all made it out of Tarbes without losing anyone. We received word of your victory but of course we would like to hear about it from you personally." the queen says to them

"Thank you for the warm welcome your majesty. I will start my report from when we first left the palace towards the village of Tarbes." says Saito.

Saito recalls for the queen and princess his journey to Tarbes and the information he got from his friends from the academy. The battle of Tarbes from the preemptive strike by the Duke, to the A class dragon, and finally to the Dukes death. Once he was finished the queen thanked everyone for their help in the battle.

"Guiche de Gramont and Montmorency de Montmorency, I want to thank you for your service to your country and your bravery in battle. I present to you the medal of heroism for valor shown in battle against the enemies of our kingdom."

Guiche and Mon-Mon walk up to the throne, bow and receive their medals of bravery from their queen. They both look very excited especially Guiche. Saito can already see it now, Guiche wearing his medal everywhere he goes, showing it to any woman he meets to talk about his bravery. It kind of made him mad but he could understand Guiche. He was like a lot of teenage boys would be if they were in a real battle and survived. Saito also had to admit, Guiche did very well for himself in those battles and he wouldn't mind going to battle with him again.

"Tabitha de Orleans, unfortunately being a noble of Galia all I can offer you is my sincerest thanks. Know that me and my daughter will always think of you as a friend of the crown for what you have done." the queen says to Tabitha

"Kirche von Anhalt Zerbst, if you would have arrived yesterday, I would have given you the same medal as I did the others and thrown a banquet in your honor for strengthening our countries bonds of friendship but... unfortunately I received a message from the royal family of Germania a couple hours ago stating they were cancelling Henrietta's engagment to Prince Albert and severing their military alliance with us. Since our countries are no longer allies I cannot do any of those things for you but I will give you my most heart felt thanks for your assistance with this matter." the queen says to her

Everyone is kind of shocked about the alliance with Germania ending. Only 4 people in the room understand why that happened and they all have different reactions. The queen just sat there, face betraying not a single emotion. The princess looked down right depressed. She thought this was all her fault for sending Prince Wales that letter. She had no idea how but she needed to make it up to her mother for being so foolish. Saito and Louise had similar expressions, ones of guilt. They both felt responsible for not only losing the letter but letting Prince Wales die at the hands of Wardes.

Once they wrapped up that part of the audience the queen dismissed everyone except Louise and Saito. They had more business to discuss and no one else needed to hear about this.

"Alright Louise, Saito, I already understand your other mission didn't go so well since Germania cancelled the engagment but I'd like to hear what happened from you two. Louise, since you left for Albion first, you start and Saito you pick up when you met up with Louise." the queen instructs them.

Louise then explains to the queen everything that happened since she left the palace. Them running into Forquet in LaRoche, being seperated on different airships, and her being mind controlled into almost marrying Wardes.

This is where Saito jumps in and explains about him meeting up with Agnes and Julia then everyone else joining him. Saito, Agnes, Kirche, and Anima going ahead of everyone to try and catch up with Louise and Wardes and then his plan to get to Wardes before he could hurt anyone. Everyone could tell by his tone when he was explaining his plan that he blamed himself for Prince Wales getting killed.

"I'm sorry princess, if I would have taken the time to survey the whole building I would have found that side entrance and I could have prevented Prince Wales from dying. I understand if I'm not fit to be your knight anymore." as he gets up and kneels in front of the princess.

"Saito, it is not your fault Prince Wales died, it is Wardes. The same goes for you Louise. He fooled all of us into thinking he was loyal to everyone. Do not hold your heads in shame, you did everything you could to complete the mission that we gave you with all the odds stacked against you." the princess says to them both. She then leans down to Saito and grabs his shoulders to pick him up.

Saito can see in her eyes that she is heart broken but she has her princess mask on she needs to wear as royalty that won't allow her to cry right now. He knows he has to make sure she has a shoulder to cry on. It is the least he can do for letting her down so bad.

"We thank you Saito and Louise for everything you have done for us so far and we look forward to your continued loyalty in the future. Saito, I believe Henrietta wants to speak with you about something after we are done. Louise you are dismissed and tell your classmates I will be sending them back with a note from me about their recent absence." the queen tells them

After the queen dismissed everyone, Saito and Henrietta are walking back to Henrietta's bedroom in silence. Saito has no idea what to say to the princess and Henrietta is still trying to process everything she learned today. Once they get to Henrietta's room she tells the guard inside to wait outside so she can talk to Saito.

"Well Saito the reason I wanted to talk to you was about the changes that happened while you were away. I'm sure you've noticed some things are different around here since you arrived." Henrietta says to him

"Yes I have princess. Well two were pretty obvious, first I saw the musket squad stationed all around the palace acting as guards instead of on the walls where they normally are and I noticed the court was rather empty compared to last time." Saito tells her

"Ever since we learned of the nobles involved in Reconquista we aren't sure who to trust anymore. People we believed to be loyal to the crown and country ended up traitors and wishing for our heads. Since we couldn't determine with 100% certainty who was we got rid of the royal guards and installed my musket squad as the guards. I hand picked every one of them and if one of them isn't loyal then I don't deserve to be a member of the royal family." Henrietta says to Saito

"I also got to know some of the musket squad and the ones I interacted with seemed like good, loyal people. Captain Agnes is certainly loyal to you. She might worry about you more then your mother does." Saito chuckles a little bit. He's trying to get the princess to laugh to forget about everything even if it is just for a moment.

"hehe" the princess laughs "You certainly have a point there Saito. It's nice to have someone like that close to me" the princess responds

She laughs a little bit and forgets about all the sadness she has had to endure the last 24 hours. Even if it's just for a few moments she is glad Saito is at least trying to make her a little happier. She has been noticing that she seems to always get a smile on her face when Saito is near. It's just like with Wales... when she remembers that she starts to tear up but holds it back.

"Well, that is all I have for you Saito. I'm sure you have somewhere you need to be... I'd like to be alone for a while." she says to him

"I'm sorry princess..." he walks over to the door and puts his hand on the door knob. He looks back at the princess before he exits and sees how lonely she looks. He knows she is about to cry by herself and he doesn't want her to go through this alone. He releases the door knob and starts walking back towards the princess.

"Princess... are you sur-" she cuts him off

"Yes Saito! Can you please just leave me b-" she begins yelling at him to leave but he cuts her off by hugging her. She is instantly starts to calm down. His embraces feels so comfortable and safe. She puts her head on his chest and starts crying her eyes out.

"Princ... no, Henrietta. I know you put on your royal face for everyone else to see. You can't show your emotions when you are royalty especially in front of others but you can in front of me. You can cry on my shoulder any time you need to, pound on my chest in frustration if you need to, or anything else you need. I'm not just your knight and protector, I'm also your friend." Saito says with the most sincerity he can muster

The farther into Saito's speech he got, the harder Henrietta cried. Just a few seconds after Saito told her he would be her friend whenever she needed one, Henrietta feel asleep in his arms. Saito picked up the princess, princess carry, (because how else do you carry a princess duh!) and placed her on her bed to rest. He didn't want to leave the princess right now but there were a lot of things he needed to get done in a short amount of time.

Saito left the princess' bedroom and saw Aimee standing guard outside of the door.

"Hey Aimee, the princess was exhausted from todays audience and announcement. She is taking a nap in there. Please don't let anyone disturb her." Saito says to her.

"Got it Saito! Thanks for everything you are doing. We in the musket squad have nothing but respect for you." Aimee says to him

"Thanks Aimee, I feel the same way about the musket squad. We are all a like, commoners to start who all moved up in the world with hard work and a commitment to protect what we care about." Saito says to her.

After Saito's chat with Aimee, he goes and thanks everyone for their help, tells Agnes about Henrietta and the musket squad and that the princess would talk to her after she rested. Now Saito needed to get to Tarbes, not for a rest he had plenty he needed to do there too. Man, life was getting too busy...

* * *

A/N: And there is Chapter 4... hope you guys enjoyed it and I'll be eagerly awaiting your reviews and feedback on the story... thank you for reading... I hope you enjoyed it


	5. Information is the Key

Disclaimer: I do not own anything

A/N: thanks for reading again everyone and i'll answer a couple of the reviews here for you guys...

OechsnerC: as you could tell with the Henrietta scene in the last chapter I'm building up to the harem... I'm sure everyone has noticed I started doing something of the same for Kirche and Ara (which doesn't mean they will be a part of the harem just have to set everything up)... the biggest obstacle will be figuring out how to get Saito on board with the concept because of how his character was written in the original story but I'll slowly get rid of his old beliefs somehow... I got an idea how I'll go about it but everyone will find that out as the story progresses

Tyrant Overlord Killidia: I'm using the anime plot as the base for the story but it's just loosely based off of it... there will be things everyone notices that are from the Anime like when I do the battle of 70,000 but I'll also change some name of towns, order of events, etc to fit my story... just think of the anime as a rough outline for me it won't follow it exactly...

Guest: not sure if this is your first review but I appreciate you liking the new chapter... I think I have figured out what to do with Louise so that isn't a problem anymore and I'll try experimenting with what you suggested to cut down on some of the descriptions...

I appreciate all the feedback you guys are giving and I'll try to make the story even better with your suggestions... without further ado the next chapter of The Discarded Hero!

* * *

After Saito talked with everyone at the palace, he set off to find Robert. He was hoping Robert could accompany him to Tarbes but knew the man was very busy. He went to the spot he and Robert agreed to meet and found him sitting there waiting for Saito to arrive. After a brief hello, Saito sat down to begin his discussion with Robert.

"I'm glad you had the time to talk with me Robert." Saito says to the man.

"I always have time to exchange information with you Saito. We need to know everything we can if we are going to be prepared for what is surely to come to Tristania." Robert replied.

"I'm glad to hear you say that Robert which is why before we begin our chat I'd like to ask you a question first. I believe I have come across someone who can give us incredibly valuable information on Reconquista. My problem is verifiying its authenticity by myself would take time I simply do not have. I was hoping you could accompany me to meet with this person and offer your insight on its validity since you know more intelligence on Reconquista then anyone else in Tristania." Saito says to the man

"You know I am always willing to help you Saito, especially if it is for the safety of the kingdom but it sounds like you need me to travel with you somewhere. I'm not sure the queen will allow me to be away from the palace for too long, she has kept all of us in the intelligence unit very busy the last couple of weeks. How long will this journey and information examination take if you don't mind me asking?" Robert asks Saito

"As far as time away from the palace, that would depend on the amount of information my contact has acquired for us. I would imagine travel time plus going over the data should take no longer then 2 days. If everything goes well, it shouldn't be unreasonable for you to return here late tonight or early tomorrow if you need to. We are only going to the village of Tarbes to get this information so you will only be a few hours away by horse if you are needed by the queen." Saito responds to him

"I don't see that being an issue with the queen but I will still need to inform her of where I am going and what I will be doing. Also, we ride griffons remember Saito, much faster then any horse." Robert tells him puffing his chest out in pride

"I think Dante would have something to say about that Robert." Saito laughs at the man "That is fine with me. I need to go into town for a few minutes and talk to some people I haven't seen in a while. Can you meet me at the gate in an hour? I should be ready to leave by then." says Saito

"Assuming the queen is ok with me leaving that should be plenty of time for me to gather everything I need. If I cannot go I will come to the front gate and tell you myself." Robert says to him

"Very well, I will see you in about an hour. Thanks again Robert."

"It's not problem at all Saito, anything for Tristania." Robert replies

After he parts ways with Robert he heads to his destination. He is both happy and terrified at where he is going, The Enchanted Fairy. He misses all of them a lot. In the time he spent there will Siesta, he came to see all of them as family and I guess most of them will be actual family when he and Siesta get married. It still didn't make him any more comfortable knowing Scarron was about to give him a bear hug and flail him around like a rag doll.

As he entered the Enchanted Fairy (newly opened a few weeks ago in a new location in the capitol) he experienced all three things he knew he would. First, every person in the whole building stared at him the moment he walked in, which he was getting used to by now. Secondly, all the staff immediately came to great him which he also expected he had only seen Jessica since he and Siesta got engaged. Lastly, and most terrifying, was Scarron barreling at him for his customary bear hug.

After he was released by Scarron he straightened up his armor and pants. Everyone was congratulating him on getting engaged and he was happy they were so happy for him. This is also part of the reason he was here other then to check on his friends before he left again.

"Thanks everyone, it means a lot that you are happy for me. That is actually partially why I'm here to see everyone. I wanted to check on everyone to see how you were all doing and ask you all if you could be available in 3 days for a couple hours during the day. I am leaving to go to Tarbes in about 45 minutes and I'll be returning with Siesta after that. I should only be 2 days, 3 maximum and I'll be back here. I'm not sure if the custom is the same here as my homeland so this is my question. I was planning on getting Siesta to either pick a wedding dress or have one made for her. In my homeland that is something a bride to be does with her friends and close family, Is that the same here?" Saito asks looking at Jessica in particular.

He knows Jessica and Siesta are very close and he even owes a little bit of a debt of gratitude towards her for the talk she had with Siesta not long after he left. He was sure she was the reason Siesta had a change of heart about him being gone and trusting he would return.

"Yes Saito, it sounds pretty much the same although, most commoners don't have the money for a fancy dress so it is usually friends and family of the bride getting together to design a dress and see who would be making which part of the gown or which area they would be decorating, etc..." Jessica tells Saito

"Well that is a relief. I was worried there was some weird tradition or something everyone had to follow. I'm glad it's similar to what I'm used to. So back to my point, I would like you guys to accompany Siesta to the dress shop. Do you think you guys can manage that or will that disrupt business too much?" Saito asks Scarron in particular. He knows he just reopened not too long ago and doesn't want him to be behind on making money.

"I don't see why that would be a problem. We can just open a little later then we normally do but that will not be a problem with me." Scarron says

"Thank you Scarr- er... Mademoiselle I'm sure Siesta will be very excited." Saito says to the confused man. After spending a little time with the staff at the Enchanted Fairy, Saito grabs Dante from the stables and goes to meet Robert at the gate.

Once Robert arrives, he informs Saito that the queen gave him the okay for 2 days to help him with his information. Saito was relieved to hear that from him. He knew Mathilda had some useful information but Saito didn't know if it would be old information or new since Robert and the queen handled almost all of the intelligence aspects of the kingdom.

After a few hours of travel, Saito and Robert arrived at Tarbes ready to sort through any information they could. Saito guided Robert to the house he and Siesta had been sharing since their arrival in Tarbes.

He couldn't wait to see Siesta, he might have only been gone for a couple days but he was gone for 2 months before that and only got to spend one night with her. He was very excited knowing he would be with her for at least the next couple of days before he needed to leave with Mathilda to get Tiffania.

"SAITO!" Siesta yells out when she sees him dismounting Dante. She runs up to him and gives him a big hug and a kiss, she got so into the kiss from missing Saito she completely forgot anyone else was there. After they break their kiss she says hello to everyone else.

"Welcome home Dante, thank you for keeping him safe for me." Dante neighs as if to say "Of course I kept him safe!" "Derf it is good to see you again also, and I'm sorry I don't know your name but I'm Siesta it's nice to meet you." after she says hello to Derf she introduces herself to Robert.

"It is very nice to meet you Siesta, I am Robert, I work with Saito at the palace." Robert tells Siesta. After he introduces himself to Siesta he looks over her should as he sees the door opening. He immediately takes a step back and reaches for his weapon. She might have cut her hair and dyed it but Robert knew that was Forquet.

"Robert, its ok, calm down and i'll explain." Saito tells him "Mathilda is my source of information. I brought you here to help me go over it and see how much of it is actually usable. You are much more up to date on current information so everything she might know you could already know. That's why I brought you here. I promised her if her information was good I was get her previous charges removed and she could start over here. She knows if the information is not good or if she is lying she will be going right back to prison." Saito explains to Robert the reason Forquet is here.

"Alright Saito, I trust you, lets go over this information so I can get back to the queen." Robert says to him.

"Oh! Saito!" Siesta almost yells. "A package came for you yesterday from Germania. It is from that necromancer you told me about, Ara. The box seems kind of heavy so I'm not sure what's in it. I didn't want to open it since it is for you." Siesta tells him.

"You could have opened it Siesta, I'm almost positive it is the rest of my Black Dragon Armor." Saito tells her.

"Oh there is more to your armor then what you normally wear? I thought you wore it like that for mobility?" Siesta asks Saito

"hehe- umm- well... there wasn't enough time to finish it before I had to go meet the princess so what I have been wearing is all the blacksmith could get done in the short amount of time he had." Saito chuckles as he explains to Siesta he has only been wearing half his actual armor.

"Wait! you've only had half your armor on this whole time!" she says in a serious tone, pointing her finger right at him.

"Well... I mean, I wasn't wearing any armor before that so it's definitely an upgrade if I only wear even a little of it" he laughs trying to get out of traveling with half/no armor

"I'm just kidding Saito." Siesta says to him amused at how flustered he gets still when she acts serious and confrontational

"You are the strongest person I've ever known. I know you will be careful and always come back to me! Now, lets see this Black Dragon Armor you are talking about! I want to see it on you already!" she says to him

Saito opens up the box and realizes he was right. It is the rest of his armor from Ara. He is kind of excited to wear the entire set of armor. When he goes to reach in the box to pull out the first piece he notices an envelope in the box with Ara's family seal on it.

"Oh it looks like Ara sent a letter with my armor. I wonder what she has been up to since I left." Saito says.

He opens the letter and begins to read it. He is a little suprised she was thinking of moving to the Dark Lord Falcon's tower and making it her own. What really caught him off guard was her saying half of it was his. He really never even thought about it being theirs. Then he remembered they acquired the deed on the top level in the last chest.

Saito didn't really have a use for a necromancers tower. He knew it could be a nice place if the Dark Lord Falcon was so twisted and strange. He knew Ara was a necromancer too but he couldn't see her making the place just like he did. She was a nice person and actually worked towards ridding the world of harmful necromancy.

Since Saito didn't really want half of it so he decided he would just let Ara own it and request a room for when he was staying there. It was also nice to see she was asking about how he was. He didn't spend a lot of time with Ara but he felt they made not only a good team but a great connection. He still didn't understand how people could be so mean to someone so nice but I guess that's teenagers for you. Once Saito was finished with the letter he set it down and started putting on the armor.

As he is putting it on and Siesta is helping him, he tells her about the letter. Siesta can't believe he owns half of a tower but it doesn't shock her at all that he is just going to give his half to her. It was good to know they always had somewhere in Germania to stay if they ever went there. She doubted Ara would say no to his request considering she didn't want to move there in the first place without Saito's okay.

Siesta was starting to like this Germanian noble the more she learned about her. She reminded her of Lady Tabitha from Gallia. She wished all nobles could be like them, treating everyone fairly regardless of blood or rank but knew that world was still a ways off. Saito was certainly speeding up the process but it would still be a while. She had complete faith that he would turn around the fortunes of everyone in here country.

"So what do you think Siesta? Do you want to go meet Ara when we get a chance? Like I told you before, I think you two would get along great. You get a long well with Tabitha and she is just like her in some ways. Also, she is completely different in other ways hahaha" Saito laughs at the end of that

"That sounds like fun Saito. I've never been out of Tristania before so I think it would be fun to visit another country! I would also like to meet Ara she sounds like a great person." Siesta tells him as they finish putting on the last piece of his armor.

Siesta always thought Saito looked the part of a hero, but to be honest, right now, he looked rather intimidating. It almost felt like the armor was absorbing the light around him but the intimidating aura faded as soon as she looked at the goofy grin he had on his face. He looked like a kid who just found a treasure. _'he might want to wear a helmet if he really wants to be intimidating hehe'_ siesta thinks/laughs to herself as she looks him over.

"Well it fits perfectly and it looks awesome. I'm going to have to give my compliments to that blacksmith the next time I see him."

After Saito tried on his new armor, he and Siesta quickly took off all his armor. Once it was removed, Saito joined Robert and Mathilda to go over the information while Siesta went to put Saito's armor where he kept it on Dante. Magic bags always amazed Siesta, she still couldn't figure out how she was able to put armor inside a pouch on a saddle bag.

Once they sat down to go over the information Mathilda could remember Robert was immediately interested after reading only a little bit. He recognized some names on this list that they had already captured and executed but there were names on the list not only he but the queen had cleared already. If these people were in fact working with Reconquista they were far deeper in trenched in Tristania then they had thought.

The 2 names that really stuck out were two judges that had been cleared. Since they had been cleared they were the ones overseeing the trials of some of the traitors found. He scanned over the documents as fast as he could without missing anything. Once he was done he looked at Mathilda with a serious expression on his face.

"Are you positive these men are Reconquista? I know Saito said he believes you but it is hard for me to. I have personally cleared some of these men after an investigation I find it hard to believe they are traitors." Robert says to her

"These are the men I know for certain are Reconquista!" she says with a firm voice. "There are others I suspect, 1 or 2 of them, but I have no proof they are Reconquista so I left them off the list. The only names I wrote down are ones I know for sure are involved with them. There is a location of proof written below each of their names. As long as you can get to that location without being detected or at least beat them there. You will find all the proof you need to convict them." she says with conviction.

Robert notices her belief in her tone of voice but is still a little skeptical. He didn't make it to the top of the intelligence unit by believing everything he heard. He needed to get back to Tristania now if this list is correct. First he needed to verify it and if it was accurate he had some more rounding up to do.

"Thank you for your help Mathilda. If this information proves accurate I see no reason why the queen wouldn't agree to Saito's deal with you. I need to return to verify this. Saito, I know I got permission from the queen for 2 days out here but if this is accurate I need to return now. You enjoy your time and I'll see you when you get back to the capitol. Siesta, Mathilda, it was very nice to meet you" and with that said Robert left for the capitol

"Well now that that is handled for now, I'm going to write a reply to Ara telling her about the tower, us coming to visit her when we get a chance probably in a couple weeks and let her know everything is good over here. After I'm done, Siesta, I would like to walk around the village and see how the rebuild is coming, visit with everyone I haven't seen in a while and just spend some time with you. Mathilda you are more the welcome to join us so you can get accustom to the village you will be staying in. I need to go back to the capitol in 2 days but I was hoping you would come with me, Mathilda also, because once we stop in the capitol we are going to go get Tiffania for you." Saito says to them

After both nodding in agreement, Saito grabbed Derf and strapped him to his back and left out of the house with Siesta and Mathilda. On the way Siesta was telling him about how the rebuild was going and who was helping with what. Every once in a while Mathilda would chime in and give him some info about the village. He was suprised but it was nice to see Mathilda was getting to know the other villagers and seemed generally happy to be here.

Once they were done with the mini tour, talking with old friends and acquaintences, Saito made his way to the Knight of Tarbes. He was glad to see them all again. They were still training as hard as ever. He wanted to talk to the ones training with Siesta so he could get an idea how he should train her and he just missed some of them to be honest. He felt like he was a Knight of Tarbes even if he technically wasn't.

He exchanged some handshakes and hugs with some of the knights. He noticed Jacob training not far away and greeted him also. He asked about how Siesta was doing in here training from their point of view. They all were suprised by how fast she was coming along with KI training.

Like Saito, she prefered wind KI when attacking but she was limited in its use. Where she really excelled was in water KI. She was the first one to heal an injury using KI like a magic spell would. Normally KI heals wounds over time and KI isn't very effective against serious wounds but Siesta's KI can heal any wound. It is just very taxing on her if she has to heal serious injuries it seems.

Saito is both suprised and proud of Siesta. He honestly believed she would awaken water KI. For someone so gentle and caring it made the most sense for her affinity. What suprised him was her use of wind KI. Not that he minded, that was his prefered KI element, but because she used it almost exactly like he did. To speed up her attacks, body and dodge ability.

After a little more training chatter, Siesta, Saito, and Mathilda said goodbye to the knights and headed towards the house for some food. Mathilda did not know Siesta or Saito very well when they were at the academy together but she could tell both of them had grown up very fast. It was comforting to know she had people like this around to help her. Saito spent the next two days getting to know Mathilda, spending time with Siesta and helping the villagers rebuild when he could. After a nice little rest it was time for them to depart back for the capitol.

* * *

Louise, Kirche, Tabitha, Guiche and Mon-Mon arrive back at the Tristania Magic Academy. Luckily for them, the queen was nice enough to send a letter with them explaining to the headmaster why they were gone and that the missed days should not be held against them.

Professor Colbert was not very happy about their reasoning for being absent. He felt children should not be participating in a battle so young. He was glad though that they all made it back in one piece and that Saito seemed to be doing well also. It seemed like the young man was making quite the name for himself now, he just hoped he didn't have to find out what it meant to go to war and not just fight one battle. That is something Colbert didn't want anyone else to faces.

Guiche was especially excited when the queen told him she informed his father about his deeds and his father replied he was doing the Gramont family proud. The queen didn't trust hardly anyone anymore but she could always count on the Gramont families loyalty.

Mon-Mon was also extremely excited. Word had gotten to her family about how far her healing skills had come, something a family of water mages are particularly proud of, but that she also entered the fort to help get rid of the traitor.

Kirche was already missing Saito and dreading being back at school. She wanted to go on one of those adventures Saito told them about like the one to the Dark Lord Falcon's tower. She was already a triangle class fire mage and she thought going on adventures would get her more powerful faster. She saw what it did to Saito plus she could be near Saito. Kirche knew Siesta knew how this world worked and even if Saito was from somewhere else he would wear down eventually to the idea of more then one woman and she wanted to be there when that happened if possible.

Tabitha was her usual self. No expression to speak of but on the inside she was missing being in Tarbes. She didn't like battle because of her uncle and cousin always trying to get her killed but being in battle with friends was a different experience. It was nice to have reliable people with you in moments like that. She wondered if Saito could help her with her mother since he said he would help with anything he could after them helping in Tarbes. Her mood soured instantly when she returned to her room and saw a sealed letter sitting on her bed.

Louise was kind of acting like she was still mind controlled. The pink haired mage had hardly said 2 words since their audience with the royal family. She might not have said anything out loud but she was thinking to herself plenty. Her mind was filled with nothing but confusion about Saito, the princess, her family, anything she could think of. She wasn't sure what was real and what was fake anymore. The only person she trusted since she was a child, other then Cattleya, had betrayed her. She didn't know what to think about Saito anymore. The princess seemed geniune that she didn't blame her for Wales but she still remembers her betrayal over Saito. She knows she summoned Saito but the princess acted as if she used her failure as a mage to place Saito at the academy. Her father had been extremely angry and high strung lately and seemed to be a different person. At least she had Anima back, she knew she could rely on her even if everyone else abandoned her. She has done too much thinking for now, it was time for a long nap.

* * *

In Germania a few days after Saito received his armor...

*knock knock knock* "Lady Ara, you have receieved a letter from Sir Saito." the head butler says to her. Ara is very excited to read the letter. She hopes that Saito has some time and this is telling her he will visit soon.

As soon as she starts reading it her face goes through a couple emotions. She is happy and confused about the tower, happy because she can move in but very confused why he only wants 1 room. If she were to price half the tower it would probably be somewhere around 25,000 gold and he was just giving that up for 1 room? It was very Saito like from what she had noticed in her short time with him.

She is beaming with pride at his reply to the new armor. She is going to have to visit the blacksmith before she leaves and give him another thank you for making such wonderful armor.

She was also a little sad for two reasons. First he said he would visit the tower but it would probably be a couple of weeks before he could get there. Second, he wanted Ara to meet his fiance. Ara wasn't quite sure why she was so sad about that. She should be happy her friend found someone he loved but she wanted to figure out what else she felt for Saito because she knew she felt something more then friendship.

She then got another smile on her face when she realized that, not only was she going to be moving on her own, but the time it would take to pack, move, and unpack would be just about the same amount of time before Saito would visit! She needed to get her things together and get a move on. She couldn't wait to see Dante either... _'it's nice to have friends'_ she thinks to herself

Once Ara finishes the letter she tells the butler to begin packing her things and get the carriage ready while she informs her father that she has decided to move to the tower she over took with Saito.

"Yay! I'm so excited." exclaims Ara

"I'll be living on my own, I get to try out my new Nightmare Golem trap, I can really explore every inch of that tower to learn the layout, I can try out my new undead creation ability I got after me and Saito took down those zombie ravens!" Ara is practically jumping for joy on her way to find her father

* * *

The Palace of Tristania...

Henrietta wakes up from her rest. She definitely needed it after crying like that.

 _'oh no... I cried like that not just in front of Saito but on him. It did feel good to have someone to talk to like a friend that I could be myself around. There were some things I couldn't even do in front of Wales but I don't have any of those fears with Saito.'_ Henrietta thinks to herself while she is lying in her bed waking up from her rest.

She gets up from the bed and starts to straighten herself out so she can talk to Agnes. She had been gone for a couple of days and needed to know all the changes that had and will be happening. She notices a note at the foot of the bed.

Its from Saito. Telling her that he had a new source of information for Robert and they were going to go investigate together and would return in 2 days. She marvelled at how hard Saito was working for Tristania. As the princess it made her both proud and determined. Proud that her knight cared so much for the kingdom and determined to work just as hard or harder to make her country the best place she could.

"Aimee" Henrietta says. She hears the door open and Aimee steps into the room.

"Yes your highness?" Aimee replies.

"Please send someone to get Captain Agnes for me. I need to speak with her about our current situation and the future." she says

"Very well your highness." Aime says

Aimee sends Rachael the other musketeer outside the door to go get Agnes for the princess. While waiting for them to return Aimee wonders to herself. _'It seems like us musketeers are going to be very busy around here for the forseeable future. I hope Saito is around for all of this. I want to try and learn that thing Captain Agnes was talking about. I think she called it KI or something like that'_

Right as Aimee finished up that thought Agnes came around the corner with Rachael. The captain seemed anxious for some reason to Aimee. Aimee knocks on the door and announces Agnes.

"Good afternoon captain, it is good to see you doing well after your journey." Henrietta says to her

"Thank you your highness" Agnes says. Henrietta can sense the anxiousness coming from Agnes and isn't quite sure why.

"Agnes, you seem a bit anxious or nervous or something like that. Is there something wrong?" Henrietta asks her

"Well your highness, I failed my mission to Albion on many different levels and returned to the capitol to the musket squad rearrangments so I assuming you are going to relieve me of my command for my failure." Agnes says in a somber tone.

"Agnes, what in the world would make you think that? I do not hold any of this against you, we were all fooled and the reason I did not inform you about the musket squad was because you were not here. The reason I called for you was to talk about the future. You are someone I trust completely and would not do anything to hurt. You are my captain and my friend, althought Saito pointed out you act more like my mother." she says to Agnes laughing at her

"Saito said I was an old lady!" Agnes yells "I'm definitely going to have to get him back for that." Henrietta is laughing the whole time.

"It is good to have you back Agnes, now... let's talk about the future." Henrietta says

* * *

And there we are... chapter 5 for you... trying to give a little of everyone's perspective so what they have been doing isn't a mystery when they meet up again... as you can probably tell i'm working on getting Saito a party I guess is the best word for it at the moment...


	6. Journey to Westwood Forest

Disclaimer: I do not own anything

 **A/N** : Well time for another chapter... review answers next then story... hope you like it...

 **OechsnerC** : funny you should ask that... I was just thinking about that right before I read your review... I did put in the description I might change it to M later on but I think I might do what Autobot Rewind did with Saving Grace... I think I'm going to keep the story T on this website and write lemons and post them to adult fanfiction dot org... It's honestly because I've never written anything like that and I don't want to hold the story up because I can't come up with a good lemon for it... I might also just imply a lemon is about to start and continue the story then insert the lemon later and change the rating... not really sure but I still have a little time to figure that out before I get to the lemony chapters lol...

 **Tyrant Overlord Killidia** : You will find out about Kirche and Ara's relationship fairly soon actually... I hope you like what I have planned... as for Tiffania... Well... keep reading and say hello!

It is nice to see some new voters on the poll... keep voting while I set it up on my end... without further ado the next chapter...

* * *

Saito, Siesta and Mathilda set off for the capitol right at sunrise. It was only going to be a few hours until they got there, but Saito had a surprise for Siesta and didn't want to be behind.

On the way to the capitol, they only encountered a few creatures even though they cut through the Forest of Tarbes. Saito let Siesta handle most of them to see how far along her training was coming. He took out the few that might have seriously injured her before either Siesta or Mathilda could blink.

Saito was impressed by how far Siesta had come in such a short time. Her choice of a rapier and using wind to enhance her speed and agility really fit, not only her fighting style, but also her personality. Soft like a gentle breeze or forceful like a gale force wind. He had only seen her angry a couple of times but he knew he didn't want to be on the receiving end of that anger.

They arrived at the capitol and Saito guided them to the new location of the Enchanted Fairy. Siesta was very excited to see everyone. She had been with nothing but knights and Lily since Jessica left. Don't get her wrong she loved the Knights of Tarbes, they were all good people and some of them were her family, but some times you need to have some girl talk. She certainly couldn't do that with Lily.

Siesta was actually very excited when Mathilda showed up in Tarbes. She was hesitant at first but after Saito's letter and her getting to spend time with Mathilda, she found she actually really like the woman. She kind of reminded her of Saito if he would have taken a different route with his life, and she was glad to make a new friend.

Once they arrived at the Enchanted Fairy Siesta was feeling kind of strange. Usually at this time of the day there are any number of people running around here getting ready for the day, but right now the front door is closed and she doesn't see any movement what so ever.

"Umm.. Saito, where is everyone? Shouldn't they be getting ready for business right now?" Siesta asks Saito

"Hmmm... yeah that is strange. Let's go see if anybody is inside." Saito says to her

Once they dismount, they lead their horses to the stable and make their way to the front door. Saito moves up to the door to open it for Siesta. Once he opens the door...

"SURPRISE!" yells the staff of the Enchanted Fairy.

Siesta is so surprised she almost jumps out of her boots. Mathilda was even surprised, she immediately reached for her wand until she realized what was going on. _'_ _ **So Saito is still the same gentle, caring person he was at the school. He has just realized the rest of the world isn't as nice'**_ thinks Mathilda

Siesta is still in a state of shock when the staff starts to greet her with hugs and congratulations. Her uncle comes up last and gives her a big hug and congratulations. After their hellos Saito tells her what this is all about.

"Well, Jessica is the only one who was in Tarbes when we got engaged and the rest of the staff wanted to see you as well so I thought this would be a good opportunity for all of you to spend some time together. After everyone catches up, Jessica will take you to the next spot of your day together. I am going to go to the palace and get everything I need for my and Mathilda's trip to get her sister. You enjoy the day with your cousin and I will be back in a few hours." Saito tells her. He gives her a kiss and departs for the palace leaving Siesta to spend some time with everyone.

After a few minutes of typical questions she knew she would get. Where did he ask you? What did he say? What were you thinking when he was asking? Can I see the ring? When the ring question came up and Siesta showed it to them, they couldn't believe it. While, like Siesta, they never paid much attention to jewelry because they couldn't afford it they all had the same reaction Siesta did when she finally really looked at it. _'HOLY CRAP'_ everyone thought. After Siesta introduced everyone to Mathilda she really had something she wanted to ask Jessica.

"Well, as much as I like catching up with everyone, I'm very interested in what we are suppose to do next. Jessica, can we go to the next spot Saito arranged for?" Siesta asks her cousin. She has been super excited since Saito told her what was going on.

"Yep, we can go right now if you like cousin." Jessica tells her

After everyone gathers up their things, they head to the next location. It is only a few minutes walk from the new Enchanted Fairy. As they start to get closer Siesta starts to get a little nervous.

"What's wrong cousin? You were very excited now you seem nervous." Jessica asks Siesta.

"Umm... Isn't this the noble district? We can only be here if we are nobles. What are we doing here? I don't want to get in trouble." Siesta says nervously

"No not anymore." says Jessica

"What do you mean, not anymore?" Siesta asks

"The queen and princess got rid off class districts. Obviously this is still were the nobles mostly live and you can't just go in their houses, but now this is just the really, really nice shopping district basically. Anyone can go in any shop here now as long as you can afford to buy what's inside." Jessica tells her

Siesta is a little shocked at this. What did she mean no more class districts. She knew what she meant, she just never heard of such a thing happening.

"When did this happen Jessica? Saito works for the princess and he never said anything about this." she tells her

"Yeah that would make sense. I believe Saito had just left for Tarbes to get you when the royal decree came out. I'm sure he will learn all about it from the princess when he gets to the palace. Now, enough of that talk! We are finally here! SURPRISE!" Jessica yells

Siesta can't believe where they are. She is standing in front of the best dress maker in the whole countries shop. It usually takes a special referral just to get inside.

 _'_ _ **I really did find the perfect man didn't I. It has to be because of where he is from. He told me all about how marriage works where he came from and what he was raised to believe when it came to marriage. I'm both extremely happy and incredibly scared. I hope he doesn't find out about the true me. I wasn't raised like him, I guess even some places in this world my thoughts are strange. I don't want to lose him and I don't think his traditional upbringing in his world would let him accept me fully. I just have to focus on how happy I am and make that everything!'**_ Siesta thinks to herself.

The group enters the shop and are greeted by a handsome looking man who seems to be somewhat like a butler. He has a tray with a number of beverages on it. He offers drinks to the ladies and guides them to the seating area.

After talking for a bit with the man the owner of the shop comes out to greet them. She goes up to Siesta and greets her. Once they say their hellos, she starts asking her questions about what kind of dress she would like.

Siesta spent the next few hours with her friends and family. Exchanging jokes and laughing, small talk with Mathilda so everyone could get to know Siesta's new friend, and a little crying seeing Siesta look like a princess in some of the wedding gowns. They return to the Enchanted Fairy, everyone had a wonderful time being treated like royalty at the shop and already kind of miss it.

* * *

Saito had to meet with the princess to let her know what he was doing. He also needed to meet with Robert and the queen to see how their investigation was going with the information Mathilda provided.

Once he got to the palace he saw the musket squad was still acting as the guards but he also noticed the guards on the wall were different. Last time he was here it was the royal guard under Duke Valiel that was on the wall, now he sees men he doesn't recognize wearing very similar armor to the royal guard but slightly different. He notices Agnes just inside the courtyard and calls out to her.

"Hey Agnes, every time I come here this place is different *chuckle*" Saito laughs as he finishes that statement

"Hey Saito, yes it seems like you always bring change when you come here" she laughs in response. Right after she says that she gets a very serious look on her face. Saito is slight scared at this sudden change and wonder what brought it on.

"So I hear you called me an old lady Saito!" Agnes says to him, poking him in the chest with a scowl on her face.

"I-I-I have n-no idea what yo-you're talking about Agnes." Saito says

"You told the princess I'm like her mother! I am the same age as the princess why would you think I was her mother!" Agnes exclaims

Saito laughs finally realizing why she was so mad.

"Well I mean... you kind of do... hehe... I didn't mean to imply you were an old lady by saying that just that you look after the princess like a mother would that's all. No need to get all worked up Agnes, it was suppose to be a compliment." Saito tries to explain to her.

"I know Saito, I was just messing with you. I appreciate you see how much I care for the princess. She is the future of this country and with her leading I think this will turn into a great place to live for everyone!" Agnes says confidently

"I was hoping to talk to the princess and possibly Robert and the queen. Could you get someone to go ask the queen if she has time to see me for an audience?" Saito asks her

"Everyone expected you back today so they are awaiting your arrival in the palace. I will take you there myself, I have a couple things I would like to ask you if that is alright." Agnes says to him

As Agnes leads him to see the royal family and Robert she asks him about KI. How he came to learn of it, what he did to train it, and how he uses it to attack. Saito has no problem telling Agnes about KI. He is pretty confident he knows the kind of person Agnes is and will only use KI to protect people. After a nice short chat with Agnes and the promise to teach any musketeers willing to learn KI when he has time they arrive at the audience hall and Agnes bids her farewells.

Once Saito enters the audience hall he sees a now familiar sight with one addition. Besides the 4 people he saw in here last time plus Robert he sees another man seated to the right of the queen, opposite side of the princess with his seat slightly lower then the princess'.

After Saito takes the man in, he is pretty sure he knows who he is. The man looks like an older version of Guiche. Saito is assuming this is Grand General Gramont. He knows the queen trusts the Gramont family more then any other noble family in Tristania so it makes sense he would be here.

After the customary greetings and the queen introducing Grand General Gramont to Saito the audience begins. Saito is kind of shocked for most of the meeting. The changes the queen and princess have enacted in the two days he has been gone are startling.

Saito is glad for the changes he hears about, he is just shocked how fast everything changed. There are still nobles and commoners but no longer class districts, also being a noble doesn't mean you get a say in state matters. Those jobs will be interviewed for with both noble and commoner getting a chance to fill the positions. They also let the nobles know the commoners on their lands are not their property and any action against them would be taken as an action against the crown. This made most nobles unhappy but instilled a near fanatical love for the royal family from the commoners. It seems like the royal family is trying to change the whole country for the better from Saito's point of view.

After he hears about the new Tristania he gets to why he was here. He asks about the information Mathilda gave Robert and if it was worth what they would be giving her in return. Robert told him every name she wrote down was accurate and they had captured 4 more traitors.

The queen gave Saito a scroll to give to Mathilda pardoning her for any crimes she committed in the past with the stipulation that if she ever broke the law again she would get the harshest punishment allowed by law. She also gave Saito permission to hire her as an informant and spy if she agreed or he could simply let her go live her life with her second chance.

Saito told the queen about Tiffania and the orphans and what he planned to do. The queen was not surprised in the least what Saito was going to do. She knew the stories the commoners told of Saito and was well aware of his gifts to numerous orphanages around the country. He didn't get the name Sword of the People for nothing.

After informing everyone where he would be headed and getting some help from the queen, in the form of transport wagons and a royal decree for an airship for transporting refugees, he headed off for the Enchanted Fairy to meet up with Siesta and Mathilda.

* * *

Once Saito arrived at the Enchanted Fairy, he was greeted by an incredibly joyful and crying Siesta. She thanked him probably a thousand times for what he did for her today. He was glad to see she had such a good time and found out from her she ended up ordering a custom dress. He asked her what it would look like and she simply replied "You'll have to wait and see" with a big smile on her face.

After his talk with Siesta he sat down to talk with Mathilda. He informed her of the queens decision and handed her the scroll. She was overcome with joy when she undid the scroll and read it. She wasn't quite sure what to do now.

"Saito, thank you for everything you have done for me. I really appreciate it and I mean that. Do you think I could have some time to think over the queen's proposal? Not only do I have to think on it, I would like to see and talk to Tiffania before I make any decisions." she asks Saito.

"Yeah, that is fine Mathilda, there is no rush to your decision. Let's just worry about getting Tiffania and everyone back to Tarbes for now and we can talk about that later." Saito says to her

"Thank you Saito. That would be great." she replies

"Siesta, would you like to come get Tiffania with us or would you like to stay here until we return? I know you haven't been able to spend any time with everyone at the Enchanted Fairy for a couple months now so I'd be fine if you wanted to stay here. Mathilda and I should be back by tomorrow night if our journey goes well." Saito asks Siesta

"I think I will stay here Saito. I missed everyone and it will be nice to spend a couple days with them before we return to Tarbes. Maybe I could even help in the kitchen a bit, I do miss cooking and it will be nice to have something to do other then train." Siesta tells him

"Ok now that that is settled shall we head off Mathilda?" Saito says to her

"Yes let us go!" she replies

Saito and Mathilda got on the wagon and headed for Westwood Forest in Albion. Saito had only heard bits of information about Albion since he last left there. There were too many things that needed attention and Robert was handling Albion. From what he did hear from him he knew Reconquista was slowly but steadily conquering all of Albion.

After Prince Wales royal guard spread the news of his death by Reconquista to the people they had a different response then the guards expected. They expected everyone to surrender after losing their last royal family member but instead the people thought it was cowardly and dishonorable how Reconquista killed him by using a wedding ceremony as the trap.

This lead to resistance groups popping up all over the country and slowing Reconquista's advance across Albion. It still wouldn't be enough to win, in Robert's estimation, unless they got help from someone but they weren't in a position to help right now and no other country looked like it cared very much what happened to Albion.

After a few hours of travel they arrived in LaRoche. Since they had the decree from the queen there was no reason to wait for the next airship. Saito went right to the dock and presented the scroll to the dock master. He looked it over and went to empty the airship that was currently being boarded.

Once the airship was empty, other then the crew, Saito and Mathilda boarded the airship and immediately set sail for Roslyth. It was the closest port city to Westwood Forest and Mathilda told Saito where they were going in Westwood Forest was almost impossible to find if you didn't know how to get there.

They arrived in Roslyth and immediately departed for Westwood Forest. Mathilda told him they would likely have to spend the night because of how long it would take to get there. Saito didn't mind and knew traveling with a bunch of kids at night probably wasn't the best idea anyway.

After a few hours of traveling a weird route through the forest where they back tracked multiple times, which Mathilda told him was necessary to get there, they arrived at the hidden village in the forest. Mathilda walked right up to the first cabin they saw and knocked on the door.

 ***knock knock knock*** "Tiffa it's Mathilda are you home?" after about a minute with no response Mathilda opened to the door to Tiffa's cabin. As they entered they could hear someone coming from the room down the hall. What Saito saw made him do a double take.

A girl came into the hallway who looked to be about his age. She had long blonde hair, incredible blue eyes that seemed to sparkle, long perfect legs were showing from her skirt, a rack that was unbelievably big, and pointy ears? _**'She must be an elf. I see their beauty isn't just a myth, this girl is gorgeous.'**_ he thinks to himself. While Saito is taking in her appearance she embraces Mathilda seemingly oblivious that Saito is even there.

"Mathilda! You're back! I missed you so much!" Tiffania says as she hugs Mathilda

"It is good to see you too Tiffa. I brought someone with me." she releases the embrace and points toward Saito.

"You're an elf?!" Saito says a little too loud, extremely excited to meet an elf in real life after only reading about them in fantasy novels back in Japan.

Tiffania reaches up to her head and realizes she isn't wearing her hat. She never wears her hat in the house and didn't expect someone she didn't know to come in her house. Her face goes from happiness at Mathilda coming back to sheer panic at this newcomer seeing her ears. She quickly darts back in here room and shuts the door, terrified at what he might do now that he knows she is an elf.

Mathilda kind of expected this response but hoped that bringing Saito here herself would let Tiffania know that he was a good person. Once Tiffa took off towards her room she realized the mistake she made. She should have had him wait outside and brought Tiffa out to him after telling her he was here. She was just so excited to get Tiffa and everyone away from here she didn't think clearly enough. Mathilda goes up to Tiffa's closed door and tries to get here to come out and meet Saito.

"Tiffa, Saito isn't like that. He will not hate you because of what you are. He judges people on their actions not their standing or race. You have nothing to fear from him. I trust him Tiffa and I know you can too." she says through the door to Tiffa.

Tiffa slowly opens the door just a crack to look out. Once Saito sees her, he realizes she put a hat on to hide her ears. He wondered why she was so self conscious about her ears. He thought they looked perfect on her, maybe he could find out if she just learned to trust him.

"What Mathilda said is true Tiffania, I'm not quite sure why you are afraid that I know you are an elf. I am not from around here and I have no problem with you being an elf. I think your ears fit you perfectly." he says to her, trying to get here to at least know he meant her no harm.

"Y-Y-You're n-n-not scared o-of me or h-h-horrified at my a-a-appearance?" Tiffa asks him

"Well you don't seem to be very scary to me and I know from Mathilda that you take care of a lot of children who have nowhere else to go so I could never consider you scary. As far as your appearance goes, well, I think you are very beautiful." Saito tells her trying to assure her he is sincere with his words.

Tiffania feels two strong emotions when Saito says that. She gets really confused that a human is not only not afraid of her but generally wants to help her. Then she gets a little embarrassed after hearing him say she is beautiful and a light blush develops on her cheeks.

"You don't have to wear that hat if you don't want to Tiffania, unless you want to. Whatever makes you feel comfortable." Saito tells her

Tiffania slowly reaches up for her hat and pulls it off her head. It feels strange to not wear her hat in front of someone who isn't her mother or Mathilda. Even the orphans she takes care of don't know she is a half elf. She finds it oddly freeing to be able to show her true self to someone who isn't one of those two women, someone who doesn't judge her because of what she is. It's no wonder Mathilda brought him here. He isn't like any of the other people she has ever met.

"O-O-Okay S-S-Saito, thank you f-f-for accepting m-me for wh-what I-I-I am. I-I'm actually a-a half elf." she stutters out

"Tiffania you don't have to be that nervous around me. I know it will take some getting used to but I'm sure you will get used to me eventually." Saito tells Tiffania

"I'll t-try Saito a-a-and could you p-p-please call me Tiffa!" she stutters then accidentally yells at the end. It is strange for her to be this open to a stranger, especially a man near her age, but she senses a kind soul coming from him even though he is dressed rather intimidating.

"Sure thing Tiffa. Well, Mathilda and I are actually here for a reason. Can we sit and have a talk?" Saito asks her as gentle as he can

After Tiffa nodded in agreement they all sat down in the living room to talk. Saito told Tiffa about him meeting Mathilda (leaving out she was a thief), them discussing Tiffa's and the orphans situation, and Saito's offer to build a new orphanage for everyone in Tarbes along with a place for Tiffania to stay.

Tiffania was a little overwhelmed by everything Saito was saying. The only place she ever knew was this cabin in the woods. Her mother told her not to interact with humans whenever possible because of how they viewed elves, and her was this human offering her a new place to live with people who would accept her and a place for all the kids and more if needed.

Tiffa thinks it sounds great and knows from the sound of the village that they would accept the orphans without question especially if Saito said they were alright but she doubted they would accept her since she was an elf. While Saito didn't hold anything against her being an elf she doubted the villagers would feel the same way.

"Well what you are saying sounds great and I know the kids would be happy. It would allow them to be kids again but are you sure the village would accept me? You might be ok with me being an elf but humans and elves have been fighting for thousands of years. I doubt they will be as accepting as you are Saito." Tiffa tells him

"I don't see why not. I still don't understand why humans and elves dislike each other." Saito says to her

Tiffania and Mathilda then explain to Saito about why elves and humans dislike each other. The elves live in the land that followers of Brimir belief to be their holy land and the elves refuse to give it back saying they lived there since before Brimir was even born. It has been thousands of years since then and while they are not actively at war, the tension has not decreased. In fact, it's at the point where normally elves attack humans on site and the same goes for humans.

This revelation hit Saito with any number of emotions but what he thought most about was how similar religions can act even in different worlds. Religious fervor apparently was the same no matter what world you lived in. He understood it to a certain extent. Some people turned to religion for comfort, some for support, some for hope. He never really understood it himself but understood the concept.

He believed in the people of Tarbes though and thought they would accept Tiffania even if she was an elf. If they didn't, he would be disappointed, but would understand if their dislike was that well established. He would just find somewhere else for Tiffania to live if it came to that.

After he told Tiffa he thoughts on Tarbes and promising that he would find another place she could live if it came to that, they talked about leaving for Tristania. Tiffania needed to tell all the children and get them to grab the few things the could for their trip.

While Tiffa and Mathilda were telling the kids about their trip and new home Saito decided to talk a stroll in the forest to check everything out just in case. He knew Reconquista knew of this place and wanted to make sure everyone was going to get out of her safely. He was just about to head back to the cabin when he heard a noise coming from above him and slightly ahead of him.

Saito looked up towards where he heard the noise and saw a truly strange sight. Standing on top of what looked like a flying manta ray was a person covered head to toe in a very long cloak. He could tell this person was obviously trying to hide their identity but Saito noticed something he was sure he shouldn't be able too because of the figure hiding behind the cloak. Right where he thought the persons forehead would be if he could see their face he saw runes glowing as bright as the sun. They were easy for him to make out like they were a giant billboard for an advertisement. As soon as he read the runes he knew instantly what they were.

He wasn't quite sure how that was but he knew this person was a familiar just like he once was... the familiar of a void mage. Mjöðvitnir - the mind of god - another familiar a void mage could have. He had no idea how he knew this by just looking at their runes but he sensed a powerful aura radiating from them.

"It seems like you are lost Royal Guard of Tristania. You have no business here in Albion now that Prince Wales has kicked the bucket!" the stranger mocks him while laughing

"I could say the same to you Mjöðvitnir, or is mind of god better for you? What is a familiar doing away from its mage?" Saito asks her he could tell it was a woman the second she talked.

Sheffield is caught a little off guard by him knowing she is the mind of god. She takes great lengths to hide her runes from everyone except her master. Her cloak is even enchanted to block out her entire face so no one can see what she looks like or the runes that adorn her forehead. She is going to have to look deeper into this royal guard and find out what he truly is.

"You are very perceptive Tristanian, I would ask how you know that but it matters not. You will not be alive much longer." she says with a smug tone

Saito would like to capture her if possible and ask her a million questions but his brain is telling him that this Mjöðvitnir is just as dangerous as a Gandalfr can be. He can't take any chances that Mathilda, Tiffania, or any of the kids could get hurt so he needs to end this quickly.

"We will see about that Mjöðvitnir" Saito says as he quickly reaches his hand behind his back pulls out his Blacktail and shoots a round directly between the woman's eyes. Right before it impacted her, a bright green shield formed over her and the round harmlessly bounced to the ground surprising Saito.

*hahahahahahahaha* "You think it would be that easy to kill the mind of god you pathetic Tristanian. I will show you the power the void has granted me!" she tells him in a mocking tone.

Sheffield reaches into her cloak and pulls out what look like a bunch of flower pedals. Saito gets the feeling this isn't going to be fun to deal with. He pulls Derf out of the sheathe and readies himself for what is coming.

"Partner, the mind of god is a void familiar who is able to use any magic item, can create new magic items, and can even make magical feats for spellcasters. She is on par with the Gandalfr when it comes to overall power they just use theirs differently. You use your mastery of weapons to be like a one man army where as Mjöðvitnir uses items and strategy to defeat their foes. Be very careful when fighting this one, she probably has some tricks up her sleeve. Although since you became a True Gandalfr you should be able to handle this no problem." Derf relays all this information to Saito so he knows what he is up against.

Just as Derf finishes informing Saito about his foe and flower pedals hit the ground and start to grow. When the pedals are finished, standing in front of Saito is 12 monsters, 6 black wolves that kind of look like Ara's pet Bob the Blob and 6 gargoyles that look to be made of stone. Just by looking at them Saito knows he is in no danger. This mind of god woman is seriously underestimating him. He will make her pay for her arrogance.

As soon as they form, Saito decides to end this quickly with his newly decided favorite KI ability. He spins Derf in his hands so it is facing the ground and plunges Derf directly into the ground in front of him.

 ***BLADE OF CHRONO!*** Saito yells out. 12 pillars of earth shoot out and impale all the combatants that were just created. Sheffield can't believe how easily he defeated her summons. Those were no ordinary summon monsters they were personally created by her so they were much stronger then any normal summons. While she is distracted by Saito's display of power he aims his Blacktail right at her.

"Come with me quietly or I will end you right here!" Saito shouts at her.

"While you may be more powerful then I anticipated you already know that weapon will do nothing to me foolish Tristanian." Sheffield mocks him

"Who said anything about shooting you?" Saito asks mockingly as he slightly lowers the weapon and pulls the trigger. The bullet flies through the air with pin point accuracy and drills the target. He wasn't aiming for her, he was aiming for her flying ray. The bullet pierces right through its wing and it begins to descend erratically.

Saito sees the ray falling and tries to run through the forest and follow it to see where it lands. If he could capture this woman, he felt he could learn all kinds of useful information. He was also very curious who her master was. The only void mage he knew of was Louise and he wondered what kind of person this void mage was. Judging from how their familiar acted, he didn't think he would get along with this person.

As he was running through the forest he saw the manta ray crash not too far up ahead of were he was running. He sped through the forest as fast as he could to reach the location. Once he arrived he was very disappointed. Apparently the manta ray was a summon, it disappeared into dust just like the other summons he killed and Mjöðvitnir was nowhere to be found.

He needed to let everyone know back in Tristania what he encountered out here and wondered why a void mage familiar was coming to Tiffania's village in the first place. Maybe one of the children was a void mage and she was coming to kidnap him. He would definitely have to look into this when they were back in Tristania and safe.

After the battle and losing track of Sheffield, Saito returned to the hidden village to find Mathilda and Tiffa. Once he found them, he told them what just happened. He noticed Tiffa tense up when he talked about how he thought Sheffield was probably here to kidnap a void mage. He would have to follow up with her later. It was getting late and they all needed rest to make the journey in the morning.

Saito told them he would keep watch in case the woman came back. Mathilda insisted that she would relieve him in a few hours so he could get some rest as well. He decided not to argue, she was a very good earth mage and promised to wake him up immediately if she thought they were in danger. After a few hours of sleep, everyone was awake and ready for their trip to their new home.

Saito told them they needed to stop in the capitol to get Siesta and then they would be headed to Tarbes. Tiffa was a little nervous to have someone else traveling to Tarbes with them. She didn't want anyone to find out she was an elf in case they would alert someone she was there but Mathilda assured her Siesta was a great person.

The way Mathilda talked about Siesta caught Tiffa a little off guard. She knew Mathilda was a private person, even to Tiffa most of the time, but it sounded like she genuinely liked Siesta. It made Tiffa a little sad thinking she was losing Mathilda and their sister like bond but she was happy Mathilda was opening up to more people. She was a good person and should have many more friends then she did.

They arrived in the capitol without much excitement. It seems the constant traveling back and forth by Saito had thinned out the monster population along the route to LaRoche. It made Saito a little unhappy. He enjoyed taking on monsters and seeing what they dropped but he realized traveling the same route over and over would not net much in the way of variety when it came to monsters and treasure. He needed to go to new lands to find things like that.

They only stayed in the capitol long enough to pick up Siesta and say goodbye to the fairies. The royal family knew where Saito was going and what he had planned. The princess gave him a magic item to contact him if she needed him while he took care of Tristania's newest residents.

Siesta had only one thought when she met Tiffa _**'Ok those can't be real! I mean, I thought mine were pretty big but holy crap one of them is bigger then my whole head!**_

Tiffa had her own thoughts when she met Siesta and saw her kiss and hug Saito _**'That figures, I finally have a good looking man say I'm beautiful and not be repulsed at me being an elf and he already has someone. Of course he has someone, I've only spent 3 days with him and I already think he's incredible.'**_

He also told her about going to see the water spirit to learn about the Ring of Andvari. The effects he heard of, and witnessed first hand, sent a shiver down his spine. He could only imagine what would happen if someone used that ring to control him and he needed to know everything he could about that ring, to not only try to counteract it, but get it away from that madman Cromwell.

After a few hours of travel everyone arrived safely in Tarbes. Saito first made his way to the house he and Siesta had been using so that everyone wouldn't be getting off the wagon near the fort in front of the whole town. He knew they were all in a new place and didn't want the villagers making them feel uncomfortable by staring. He took Siesta, Tiffa, Mathilda and himself inside and told the kids to just hang around the house for a few minutes while he talked with them.

"Ok, before we take the kids to meet everyone I have a couple questions for you two." he looks at Mathilda and Tiffa. "I will only been here for another day. I have many things I need to do and they all need done yesterday. I have already ordered and paid for the building materials for the new orphanage. They will start to be delivered in two days and the construction will begin in three days. You two are welcome to stay at the fort with the kids but considering Tiffa's special circumstances I thought you might want to stay in this house instead." Saito tells them

Siesta is a little confused when he says Tiffa has special circumstances and doesn't quite understand what he is talking about.

"Ummm.. Saito, what do you mean "special circumstances" Tiffa has?" Siesta asks genuinely curious. Tiffania seems like a nice, kind, ordinary girl to her, other then the fact she beautiful and has a rack like a mountain that is.

Saito looks at Tiffa to see if she is comfortable enough to tell Siesta she is an elf. He only found out because he barged in her house with Mathilda and wasn't sure if she was ready to share that with anyone willingly.

"Well, since Saito trusts you and I trust him, I will show you, b-b-but p-please d-dont f-f-freak out!" Tiffa pleads

Siesta is very confused by her sudden change in speech and demeanor. While she didn't come off as someone confident, despite her beauty, Siesta had never seen Tiffa act this meek and terrified in the little bit of time she spent with her. It was like she had just changed into a different person mid sentence.

After telling Tiffa she wouldn't freak out Tiffa slowly reached for her hat. When she took off her hat she looked at Siesta waiting to see the look of disgust she was almost certain to have on her face. What Tiffa saw was not what she expected. Siesta had a smile on her face. She slowly lifted her hand and ran it along Tiffa's ear. It felt surprisingly good to Tiffa and she smiled instinctively while trying to hide her blushing face.

Once Siesta realized what she did, she apologized over and over again. She had no idea what came over her. She just wanted to see what they felt like. The felt just like her ears just a little softer, and seemingly from Tiffa's reaction, a little more sensitive.

Saito was shocked but not for the reason he thought he might be. He was sure Siesta wouldn't mind that Tiffa was an elf, what he didn't expect was for Siesta to immediately start stroking Tiffa's ear. It was both confusing and somewhat arousing which made Saito even more confused.

After an awkward exchange of apologies from Siesta, and for some reason Tiffa, Mathilda and Tiffa agreed that staying here was probably the best for both of them but didn't want to impose on Siesta and Saito. The house was fairly nice for a village but it wasn't exactly designed for 4 adults to live in.

"Well, it will either just be three of you here or two depending on what Siesta wants to do." Saito tells them. Siesta is a little confused again. If he kept doing this to her she would have a permanent "?" above her head she couldn't get rid of.

"I need to travel to see the water spirit at Lagdorian Lake. The ring that the leader of Reconquista has was stolen from the water spirit. Since the ring belonged to the water spirit I'm assuming she knows how to counter it, what exactly it does, and the best way to find it. So I'm taking a trip to talk to her. If you would like Siesta, you can come with me. It shouldn't be very dangerous and you have made a lot more progress in your training then I thought possible in the short time since you have started." Saito says to her

"Do you really think I'm improving that much Saito?" he nods his head to that "Well, if you think I'm ready to join you for one of your adventures I'd love too!" she says to him

"Well it's not really like one of those adventures but I suppose any trip to an unknown place could be considered an adventure." he says to her

"Ok then, let's go introduce everyone to the new residents and get ready to head out tomorrow. " Saito says

After that everyone goes to the fort in woods for introductions. Most of the residents are still living here but a few have returned to their homes and most of the other families homes will be done shortly. They are still incredibly grateful to Saito for coming up with the idea for this place and then going above and beyond and paying them for working on it.

After everyone was acquainted, Siesta and Saito slipped off to spend some time alone. It was nice to be around so many people they considered family but even they needed their alone time. They didn't get much of it since Saito first left to be a monster hunter and Siesta loved every second she could get of it.

Saito relished these moments too. Just the two of them enjoying being near each other, they didn't even have to talk, he just wanted to hold her and forget about everything else for a little while and take in her presence.

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And there is chapter 6... I hope you guys enjoyed what I did with this part of the story with Siesta, Tiffa, Tristania as a country, and a little with Saito... see you next chapter!


	7. Past, Present, and Future

Disclaimer: I do not own anything

A/N: Hope everyone liked last chapter... quick question for everyone... Ara will be making her return soon and I have character sheets for her and Saito that will be up to date with the story when she gets in the party...question is would you guys prefer I put the updated character sheets at the end of the chapter she appears in or would you prefer a seperate chapter of nothing but their character sheets? also would you like to see character sheets for other characters like Siesta, Kirche, Henrietta, etc... let me know

 **OechsnerC** : I decided I'm going to keep the story on this site... regardless if I post lemons to this story and change it to M later or just make a new story that is nothing but lemons for this one it will all be on this site... so stay posted for them but don't hold your breath we are still a little ways off from all of those

 **Tyrant Overlord Killidia** : Saito is assuming the water spirit knows the most about it... we will find out if she actually does... glad to see you liked Tiffania and Siesta's interaction... hopefully I can keep it going...

On to the next chapter...

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Saito and Siesta got up to leave at sunrise like Saito always does when he journeys. Siesta was very excited to accompany Saito on one of his journeys. This would be her first one and she wanted to remember all of it. She was excited to meet a water spirit. From what Saito told her they only come out at night and you need to use your blood to summon them.

Saito and Siesta got Dante ready and they were off to Lagdorian Lake. The trip there wasn't very eventful until they were only about a day away from the lake. The previous areas where not only pretty well traveled but routes Saito had covered before so the monster population was a little thinner then normal.

Siesta got to test herself against a few enemies on the way there and Saito started training her to use her wind in ways other then combat. Like how he showed her to wrap her feet in wind so it would cushion her steps and she could sneak easier. Saito came up with a lot of abilities like that with wind. He seemed to be coming up with a new way to use it everyday no one had ever thought of.

When Siesta showed Saito her water healing ability he was very impressed. If she focused solely on healing and didn't have to waste her KI on fighting it would be like having a water mage with him. He knew she would need actual combat experience to truly grow though. He wasn't looking forward to her being in that much danger but she trusted him so he was going to do the same with her.

They arrived at the lake in the late afternoon time and set up camp to wait for nightfall. Saito noticed the water level was certainly higher then it should be. He was never at this lake before but he was pretty sure most of the houses were not suppose to be found this to be quite romantic. Just her and Saito, camping along the lake, spending time together. It felt like they were on their honeymoon. _**'If this is what adventuring with him feels like I want to be strong enough to go with him everywhere he does!'**_ Siesta thinks to herself while they are walking along the lake holding hands.

After spending some time together, eating, and enjoying each others company nightfall had come and it was time to meet the water spirit.

Saito took out a dagger from one of his pouches and cut the palm of his hand. He dropped a little bit of blood at the edge of the lake and waited for the water spirit to show itself.

After about five minutes Saito was getting kind of restless. He knew from his monster hunter manual that water spirits should appear fairly shortly after sensing the blood of someone it recognized or considered worthy. He was a little worried it didn't find him worthy but all that worry was put to rest when the water spirit appeared.

"Hello True Gandalfr, it has been a long time since one such as yourself has paid me a visit." says the water spirit.

"Hello water spirit, I am glad you deemed me worthy of an audience. I have some questions I hoped you could answer for me and also any help you could give me with my current problem." Saito says to the spirit

"Gandalfr's are always worthy of the spirits attention and guidance and you are a True Gandalfr. You are only the second one to ever exist so I was naturally curious Gandalfr." the spirit replies

"What do you mean I'm only the second True Gandalfr? Who was the first one? Do you know what the extra runes on my arm do?" Saito asks a bunch of questions

"Hmmm, did Derflinger not tell you? I assummed the blade of the Gandalfr would have informed you of such things already?" she says half telling half asking why he didn't already know the answers to such questions

"No water spirit, I have not told him about the only other True Gandalfr." says Derf

"That is suprising for you Derf. I can't remember a time you didn't love to talk." the water spirit laughs at him

"Well there are two reasons for that water spirit. First, I was dormant for so long without a Gandalfr that I forgot most of my memories. Only recently when my partner changed my appearance did I start to remember and even then it was only the last thousand years or so when I had no Gandalfr. Secondly, and probably most importantly is, I'm a wise cracking sentinent sword and the new author seems to hold a grudge against me or something. We are 8 chapters into this damn story and I've only had like 10 lines so far. What the hell man!" (A/N: Sorry Derf I don't want to make my long dialogues even longer *SAD FACE*)

"What the hell do you mean new author Derf?" asks Saito

"Nevermind, it's not important, I honestly don't remember the other True Gandalfr water spirit." Derf finally get off my case and back on topic.

"Ahh ok well the only other True Gandalfr was Sasha. She was the very first Gandalfr. She created Derflinger. She was a very powerful magic caster and when she gained the Gandalfr runes it turned her into the first True Gandalfr. A magic user with a mastery of all weapons. She was a truly powerful being. She was also an elf and a follower of Brimir. Well, until she figured out what he was truly doing and killed him that is." the water spirit tells them

Saito isn't quite sure what to do with all this information. He got some good information about Sasha but the spirit didn't really tell him what it meant to be a True Gandalfr. He was hoping he could figure this out soon before Reconquista came for Tristania.

"Well that sounds awesome and horrible at the same time but I'm really interested in what the new runes can do for me. The people who stole your ring are currently waging a religious war and will soon be coming for the people I care about. I was hoping you could tell me about this Ring of Andvari and how to counter act its effects. I've seen it work and it terrifies me honestly." Saito says to the spirit.

"I will make a deal with you Gandalfr. There are currently two people attacking me. If you can stop them from attacking me I will not only tell you what I know of the ring but I will tell you what your runes can do and teach you some abilities for them.I just ask that you return the ring when you acquire it from this Cromwell." the spirit offers Saito.

"You have a deal spirit. Are the attackers here now? If so, where are they?" he asks the spirit.

"They are on the opposite side of the lake. They are quite the pair. One is a wind mage and other is a fire mage. They work very well together. Of course they could never actually defeat me but it is nice to see powerful mages that can work so well together. It has been quite entertaining for the last day or so but now I have better things to entertain me!" the spirit explains

Saito and Siesta set off for the opposite side of the lake to confront the mages. Saito realizes this is the perfect opportunity for Siesta and him to practice sneaking with wind KI.

After they practice a little moving to the other side of the lake Saito is confident in both their abilities to use the ability. They both sneak up quietly and peek out from behind the bushes.

Once Saito picks his head up he sees the mages. The are in the middle of coordinating a combination spell. Saito has only seen two sets of mages who were good enough together to use such a tactic. Right as he was thinking about those two pairs he heard familiar voices come from under the hoods of the cloaks and saw a very familiar vortex of fire combo spell.

Saito immediately stood up from behind the bush taking Siesta a little off guard.

"Kirche? Tabitha? Is that you two?" Saito asks

Both cloaked mages turn towards Saito

"Darling?/Saito?" they both say very confused why Saito is here.

Once they notice who it is they drop their wands. Siesta sees that it is Kirche and Tabitha and comes out from behind the bushes. Everyone is suprisingly excited at the sudden reunion.

Kirche gives Saito a hug but unlike her customary hugs, she doesn't smash his face into her cleavage. It is just a standard hug even if it was a little tighter and longer then a usual hug is. To Saito's surprise, Siesta doesn't seem to mind the hug Kirche gave Saito at all.

Tabitha is pretty happy to see Saito too. She still wanted to ask him to help with her mother but knew he had a ton on his plate already. She would eventually build up the courage to ask but needed to wait until he had the time to lend her a hand.

After Saito asks why they are attacking the water spirit, he gets them to stop and heads back to the spirit. He explains why the water spirit was being attacked and the spirit agrees to lower the water level back down since Saito is going to find the ring for her. Then it is on to find out about his runes.

The water spirit explains to Saito that Sasha used the True Gandalfr runes to imbue her weapons with her spells and to learn extra spells by storing them in the runes. This was the way he was going to have to use them because he was not a mage and had no magic points.

"You will be able to learn a number of spells based on your intelligence. Have you ever had your level checked Gandalfr?" the spirit asks

"Yes spirit, I had the level check spell cast on me by my princess when I became her royal guard. My intelligence then was 21. It was only a few weeks ago so I doubt it changed since then." he responds to the spirit.

"That is quite high for someone who does not possess magic ability. Still low for someone who is an actual mage like say Princess Henrietta but very good for a fighter." the spirit says to him

"Wait, how do you know the princess? Did you train her too?" Saito asks

"No I have not. She has a very strong affinity for water magic, that is something I can obviously sense. I always wanted to train her but she lead a terribly sheltered life even for a princess. She used to visit. Well, not me in particular but she used to come here. I wish she would come train I bet I could get her strong then that damn Air Spirits favorite human Karin. Anyway, enough of that. I will teach you 2 spells, a new ability and teach you what I know of the ring. You will use these spells different from a normal mage since you don't actually have any magic. You will be able to learn a number of spell like abilities equal to 1 per point of intelligence you have above 10. So at the moment you can learn 11 different spells. Make sure you choose them wisely. Once you learn a spell it cannot be replaced. You will be able to use these a number of times per day depending on the strength of the spell and the strength of the mage who is teach it to you. I will teach you a healing spell, a restoration spell, and a new water ability. After you have learned those we will talk about the ring and what I know of it. While it might have been in my posession it is not actually mine. It was create by the first Mjöðvitnir and I cannot tell you everything about it." the water spirit tells Saito

"That is fine spirit I will take any information that can help me stop this man and get that ring back for you." Saito replies

After that they start their training to teach Saito his new spells and ability. It is easy to learn the spells from the water spirit. There is certainly not a more powerful water mage in this world then the spirit of water.

Once they finishes that training after just a couple hours they move on to talking about the Ring of Andvari. Saito learns of the abilities the water spirit knows it has. Most of them terrify him but he has heard almost all of this from Mathilda already.

"That is what I can help you with as far as information goes with the ring. There is more I could teach you but no one has the affinity needed for it between any of you. I have been searching since I watched mankind grow up to find a mage capable of casting the spells I'm talking about. If someone uses the ring to poison water there will be next to nothing you can do. To purge dark water you need someone with a very strong affinity for the Dark Arts. I found a mage about three millenia ago who had a very strong affinity for light magic and taught him to be my light champion. I have been searching for a dark arts mage with a strong enough affinity for it to become my champion of dark or Lord of the Uttercold as I like to call it. Some have the affinity but none are strong enough for my spells or training." the spirit tells Saito

When Saito hears the spirit talk about needing a Dark Arts mage with a strong affinity to teach he immediately remember Ara. She was so strong with the Dark Arts she graduated in only two years. She did say she was bored and wanted to go on an adventure. Maybe he would be seeing her sooner then he thought.

"Water spirit, what if I brought someone to you who had a strong affinity for the Dark Arts?" Saito asks her

"If she is strong enough to receive my training I will teach you another ability that is a combination of the Dark Arts and what you call KI." the spirit says

"You have a deal spirit. I will go see if my friend is willing to undergo your training and if she agrees, I will return here with her. Thank you spirit. I look forward to seeing you again." Saito says

"And you as well Gandalfr."

The spirit disappears into the lake and everyone notices the water is starting to receed. Once their conversation ends Saito turns to Siesta.

"Well Siesta, looks like you are going to meet Ara sooner then I thought." he says to her

"Kirche, Tabitha, what are you guys going to do? Are you heading back to school?" he asks them

"Yes we are heading back to school darling. We were only up here because Tabitha's cousin asked her to deal with this water spirit flooding the lake, but did you say a Dark Arts mage named Ara Saito?" Kirche asks him

"Yeah, I met Ara in Germania, I tested out her new trap, overtook Dark Lord Falcon's tower with her, and she is the one who gave me Dante as a reward." he tells Kirche

"Well when you see Ara tell her I said hello." Kirche says

"Wait, do you know Ara? She said she didn't have any friends in school?" Saito asks

"Yes I know Ara, and remember I go to school in Tristania Saito. Have fun and I'll see you later!" with that said Kirche and Tabitha take off on Sylphid.

Saito still doesn't quite understand how Kirche knows Ara but it didn't seem like she disliked her. _**'I'll have to ask Ara about that when I see her'**_ Saito thinks to himself.

Once Kirche and Tabitha take off, Siesta and Saito start packing up to head to Germania. Right as they are about to head off, Saito gets a message from the princess on the magic item she gave him. It allows for short messages and replies to be sent without having to wait for a messenger bird to arrive. The number of words are limited but it's much quicker and safer then a normal letter.

He reads the message and is a little surprised. Apparently she is going to be at the magic academy and wants Saito to come back there when he is done. Tiffa and Mathilda are also accompanying her apparently. He wondered how Henrietta made friends with Tiffa so fast but just chalked it up to her friendly demeanor and gentle tone she took with most people.

Saito replied to the princess that he was headed to Germania to get some help with the ring and he would head to the academy in a few days after training with the water spirit. Then Saito and Siesta headed off towards Germania both were excited to see Ara.

Saito was excited because he missed his new friend. She was a big help to have around during adventures being both a mage and very knowledgable.

Siesta was excited to meet Ara because of the stories Saito told her about their adventure. She seemed like a great person and a very good mage. She hoped she got a long with Ara. It would be nice to have a girl friend to travel around with Saito. There were just some things she couldn't talk about with him.

* * *

In the village of Tarbes a few hours after Saito and Siesta left...

A messenger bird arrived at the tower for Jacob. It was from the royal family requesting his presence a long with Mathilda and Tiffania.

Jacob was confused to say the least. He had no idea why he was being summoned to the capitol to see the royal family. He assummed Saito had something to do with it but figured his friend would have told him about being summoned to the capitol.

With a bewildered expression on his face, he made his way to the house Mathilda and Tiffania were staying in to tell them about the summons. He knew Mathilda was just pardoned so maybe they wanted to talk to her about something but it still didn't make any sense to him why he and Tiffania were being summoned.

 ***knock knock knock***

"Hello Jacob, what can I do for you today?" Mathilda says to him

"Hi Mathilda, I got a summons from the princess to go to the capitol and it says you and Tiffania are suppose to accompany me as well." Jacob tells her

"Do you know what it is about Jacob?" she asks him

"No idea, It just says to come to the capitol as soon as possible for an audience and to bring you and Tiffania with me. I'm not sure why to be honest." Jacob says.

"Oh okay, well let me tell Tiffania and we will get ready to go. How long do you need to be ready Jacob?" Mathilda asks

"Not much time, 30 minutes should be plenty for me. Is that enough time for you and Tiffania to be ready?" Jacob asks

"Yes that should be plenty. We don't really have too much right now since we just moved. We will meet you at your tower when we are done." she says to him

After that exchange, Jacob goes back to his tower to grab the few things he will need for the short journey to the capitol. He also needs to go see Richard and let him know he will be gone for at least the rest of day, maybe tomorrow too since he has no idea why he is being summoned. Once he is gone, Tiffania pokes her head in the living room and starts asking Mathilda questions.

"Why would the princess want to see me? Do you think she knows I'm an elf? Is she going to put me in prison? Put me on trial? Kill me..." Tiffania unloads questions so fast Mathilda can't even keep up with what she is asking.

"Tiffa calm down, I don't personally know the princess but from what I hear she is a good person. She tried helping Saito before he was who he is and was just a commoner. She has been trying to make life better for commoners in Tristania for a while now, and do you think Saito would serve someone if they weren't a good person?" Mathilda tells her.

"I know you have a point but I'm still scared. This is different then what my mother told me, and what I have experienced up until now. Humans used to be scared of me on sight and try to hurt me but everyone here has accepted me, well the ones who know I am a half elf. I hope the princess is like them. I like it here." Tiffania tells her

"Don't worry Tiffa, I won't let any thing happen to you and I don't think they would do anything to someone Saito is personally helping. He doesn't seem like the type that you want to get on his bad side." Mathilda says laughing a little bit at the end of that statement.

"Ok Mathilda, I'll get my things and we can head out." Tiffa says to her

After a few minutes of gathering what they needed for a journey to the capitol, they were off to the mage's tower in town to meet up with Jacob. Jacob arrived a few minutes after they did and they set off on their journey.

With two square class mages on the journey they took the short route to the capitol through the Forest of Tarbes. Either Saito journeying back and forth had considerably cleared up the monster population or monsters could sense the powerful mages and just kept their distance because they didn't encounter a single magic beast on their entire journey. It made the travel a lot easier and a lot faster then they expected.

They arrived at the capitol a couple hours before dinner and headed straight for the palace. They were all curious about the summons and all for different reasons. Once they got to the front gate they were greeted by a member of the musketeer's and guided into the palace.

When they arrived at the audience hall Mathilda and Tiffania were asked to wait in hallway on the benches while Jacob spoke to the royal family. Tiffania was nervous and fidgeting while sitting there. Mathilda noticed this and tried to calm her down but it wasn't having much of an effect on her as she would have liked.

Inside the audience hall Jacob was standing in front of the queen, princess, Grand General Gramont, Lord Montmorency (Royal Alchemist), and Robert. Jacob recognized the last man as the one who showed up in Tarbes looking for Saito a while back.

"Jacob the Combustible, it is great to see you came at our request. I'm sure you have some questions as to why you were summoned and we will get to those shortly. First I would like to say thank you for everything you did in Tarbes. Not only for the battle that happened not too long ago but also for everything you did before that. You are an example all nobles can follow and it's truly wonderful to have you serve this country." the queen says to Jacob.

"Thank you for your kind words your majesty. I was only doing my duty to the people of Tarbes and I will come whenever your highness requests my presence." Jacob replies to the queen.

"Well, let's get to the reason why we have summoned you here. I'm sure you have noticed on your way here some of the changes we have recently enacted." the queen says to him

"I have your highness, there were a few things that were very noticable but the thing that stuck out to me was how happy everyone seemed to be honest with you." Jacob says.

"Well once you see in detail the changes we made you will understand why which brings us to our point. We know about your father. That you are the son of the former Duke of Tarbes and what happened with your mother." the queen says

Jacob noticably flinches when the queen mentions his mother. Even after getting his revenge it still didn't take away any of the pain he felt.

"To that end, we have an open position we believe you would be perfect for if you would accept it." the queen asks Jacob

"To be honest your majesty, I quite like where I am now and would prefer to stay in Tarbes as its mage. The reason you probably think I am such a good example for nobles is more then likely because I was raised a commoner by the people of Tarbes. I owe them a great debt and do not wish to abandon them, especially now that they have no Duke." Jacob tells everyone.

"I'm glad to hear you say that Jacob because the position we would like to offer you is being the new Duke of Tarbes." the queen tells him

Jacob can't believe what she just said. The Duke of Tarbes?! Could he even do that job properly? Being a village mage was easy enough, keep away some monsters, make sure the villagers are safe, the end but being the Duke was a whole different story. He wasn't sure if he had the skills to be a Duke and he didn't want to let the people of Tarbes down.

"I am very grateful you thought of me for a position like that your majesty but to be honest I'm not sure I have the skills required to be the Duke of anything. I only know magic and creatures mostly. I know nothing of contracts, trade agreements, and things of such nature." Jacob tells her

"You may be correct Jacob but all of those things can be taught to you. What we cannot teach is a love for your people and a genuine will to help those people. Something you have both of. You may also choose any mage you like who does not have an offical position to be the new mage of Tarbes. We can assist you if you require it but the final decision would be up to you." the queen says as soon as she finishes Henrietta speaks up to ask him a question.

"So what do you say Jacob? Would you do us the honor of becoming the next Duke of Tarbes?"

After a few seconds of thinking, Jacob had made up his mind. He could do more for the people of Tarbes as the Duke then he ever could as simply its mage. He would make sure he took care of everyone like they did for him when his mother passed away.

"It would be an honor your majesty." Jacob replies to Henrietta

"Good! We will send out an announcement tomorrow morning. For now you should rest, we have a guest room already set up for you. One of the musketeer's will lead you there, Duke." Henrietta tells him

"Your majesty, one more thing, I came here with Mathilda and Tiffania. I do not wish to leave them alone in the capitol. I would like to make sure they make it back to Tarbes safely since Saito left them in our care when he left with Siesta to go to Lagdorian Lake." Jacob says

"Do not worry Jacob, Henrietta wanted to talk to Tiffania and that is why they are here. When they are finished speaking we already have a guest room for them as well. Who is Siesta that is traveling with Saito?" the queen asks

The person who answers is not Jacob but Henrietta.

"That is Saito's fiance mother. I believe they are getting married in 3 months if I'm not mistaken. Is that right Jacob?" Henrietta asks him.

"I honestly do not know when your majesty but yes that is Saito's fiance. She has been training with our knights to accompany Saito on some of his journeys. Saito felt this wasn't particularly dangerous so he asked her to accompany him to see how her training was going." Jacob replies

The queen is shocked for two reasons. First, she didn't even know Saito was engaged, something she was a little frustrated about. She knew everything about he kingdom but she somehow missed this little bit of information. Second, she wondered how Henrietta knew not only who Siesta was but that it was Saito's fiance and when they were to be married. It didn't seem like even Jacob knew the date but she could tell by the way Henrietta said it she was certain it was in three months time.

After a few more exchanges with Jacob the queen dismisses him. She wants to ask Henrietta a couple questions about Saito and his fiance. She had plans for Saito and Henrietta and this was an unforseen set back. She needed more information to deal with this situation.

Once she learned from Henrietta about Saito and Siesta she realized this was going to be very difficult. The way they know each other, how they fell in love, all of it was a problem for her plans for Henrietta after the cancellation of her wedding. If she were to force their partnership like she tried to on the oblivous young man when he first enter their service, their acceptance by the people would plummet if anyone found out.

Forcefully removing Saito from his partnership/marriage to be with Henrietta was a terrible idea right now. She could only imagine the publics reaction to the queen who stole the sword of the people away from his commoner soulmate and forced him to marry her daughter. This was going to be tricky but she was sure she would figure this out eventually.

After Henrietta spoke with her mother about Saito and Siesta she left the audience hall to greet Mathilda and Tiffania. She knew why her mother was asking all those questions about those two, and she honestly was fine with it. She wasn't sure there was anything her mother could do at this point because of the changes they had made and the effect it would have the peoples moral but she didn't mind her trying.

The only thing that caught her off guard was that her mother didn't know about them. Saito did invite her to the wedding after all. I guess maybe he thought the queen would never show up to his wedding. It didn't seem like he thought I would accept either.

 _ **'Of course I'll go. I'll watch another man I have strong feelings for be out of my reach forever. I have to marry for the sake of my country and I accepted that a long time ago. Although, I guess marrying Saito would probably be what is best for the country, and I would get to be happy. I can always hope my mother succeeds somehow. I guess there is always the hope Siesta is like most women in this world and doesn't mind sharing. I'm sure we could work something out... maybe... hopefully...'**_ Henrietta thinks to herself

After musing to herself about her possible future love life, she exits the audience chamber to see Mathilda and Tiffania sitting there. Aimee is keeping them company while they waited for her.

"Mathilda, Tiffania, it is very nice to meet you both. I know we met before" she says to Mathilda "but this is the first time we are meeting after your new start here so I just wanted to offically welcome you to Tristania. I would like to speak to Tiffania, Mathilda you are more then welcome to join us but I don't want to speak here come to my bedroom and we will talk." Henrietta tells them

Tiffania looks terrified just sitting there shaking so Mathilda answers for them both.

"Thank you your majesty, we will gladly accompany you. Sorry about Tiffania, this is her first time away from home and she is very shy around new people and places." Mathilda tells Henrietta.

"That is no problem at all. I hope we can soon get a long well Tiffania. Any friend of Saito's is a friend of mine."

Henrietta notices Tiffania gets a little smile when she mentions Saito's name. He seems to have that effect on a lot of people. Henrietta thought at first when it happened to her it was because he was so nice but after spending much more time with him and thinking to herself she knew what Tiffania was thinking.

 _ **'Yep she is definitely in love with him too. I had that same look on my face when I met Saito the first few times. If she hasn't realized it yet, she will soon. This might get very complicated.'**_ Henrietta thinks to herself.

After a short trip down a few hallways they arrived at the princess' room. They entered the room and sat down at the small table to have some tea while they spoke. After they were all seated and had their drinks the princess started the discussion.

"Before we get to why I called you here I would like to tell you a story. It won't take long and it will explain a lot to you two." Henrietta says to them

"T-T-That is f-f-fine your h-highness." Tiffa stutters out.

"You do not need to be so tense Tiffania. I hope after my story you will relax a little. My story starts when I was 2 years old. It's my first truly clear memory. It was the first time I walked all the way across the royal bedroom without any help. My uncle was the starting point and my parents where on the other side of the room. After I walked across, I remember all the smiles and hugs from all three of them and how proud they were. The reason I mention this is because that uncle became like a second father to me. I spent a lot of time with him when I was a kid until I was a teenager and my responsiblities started taking up a lot of my time. I always made time to see him when I could but being in my position, the time wasn't as often as we liked. I started remembering pretty much everything from the time I was about 5 years old, not to brag, but I'm pretty smart hehe. Anyway, when I was 8 I finally started to notice that on the same day every year my uncle would get very sad all day long. I would try to cheer him up but it would only work for a little, then the next day he would be fine. When I turned 13 I finally asked why he got so sad on the same day every year. At first he only told me it was a coincedence but when I was 16 he told me the real reason. He had a daughter that he couldn't see. She was from a mistress and that mistress was an elf. He told me her name was Tiffania and that day was her birthday. My uncle was the Archduke of Albion, so that makes you my cousin."

As the story was progress Tiffania is still panicking a little. She got a little more comfortable partway through when she saw how calm and relaxed the princess was. By the time Henrietta was at the end of her story she was shocked, happy, sad, and terrified.

Shocked that her father told someone else about her. Happy and sad that he remembered her birthday but was sad all day. Finally, she was terrified. Henrietta knew she was an elf and knew the royal family was descendants of Brimir. That was the reason her father was forced to send them away from what her mother told her.

Mathilda didn't know what to make of this situation. She had to hope this wasn't going to end badly and would even defend her against the princess if she needed to.

"Before you get too scared and think I'm going to hurt you let me set your mind at ease. I do not share the religious fervor, if you will, some descendants of Brimir do. Being of royal blood does have some perks others don't know about. For instance, we have records no one has access to that tell us what Brimir did 6000 years ago and exactly what he believed in. Myself and my mother do not follow those beliefs. Trying to commit genocide and judging whole races is, in our eyes, disgusting. We do have to keep up appearances with Romania but that is the extent of it. As long as you are here you will be under our protection and have nothing to fear. If you have a problem with anything you just let us or Saito know and we will help you in any way we can."

As Henrietta finishes her speech to Tiffania, Mathilda is very visably relieved. She had no idea about the past of Brimir but she didn't much care. She was never very religious to begin with. Never helps to pray to god when you are stealing and Brimir was just a man from the past anyway. He wasn't a god.

Tiffania was actually relived. She couldn't believe people actually felt this way about her. It was the complete opposite of what she believed but it was also exactly like her mother told her. There were plenty of people in this world who would hate her just because she was an elf. She had to figure out how to overcome that if she was going to be able to help others the way everyone was helping her.

"I-It is a l-lot to take in y-your highne-" Tiffania is cut off

"Henrietta, you are my cousin, please call me Henrietta Tiffania and I hope you will get more comfortable around me. It would be nice to have a family member to talk to when I need it." she says

"I-I will try Henrietta. Please call me Tiffa" Tiffa replies

"One last thing Tiffa, I will be going to the magic academy and staying for a while. My mother is going to be taking care of things here and I want my musketeer's and mages that will be part of the military to be training. I'm sure when Albion is conquered they will come for us and we need to be ready. I'm not asking you to join the army Tiffa. I wanted to know if you would like to go to the magic academy and become a better mage." Henrietta asks her

"W-W-What makes you think I'm a mage, Henrietta?" Tiffa asks nervously

"Well your father was a mage, your mother was an elf mage, it stands to reason you are a mage. Plus, Saito told me when he mentioned a void mage trying to be captured you tensed up. I told you I'm a smart cookie hehe. I'm assumming you are a void mage Tiffa?" Henrietta says to her not really asking.

"I don't exactly know what void mage means but I can cast some magic. I always thought it was elven magic because of my mother. I can do some spells my mother couldn't that have to do with nature. It's probably because I spent my whole life in the forest. Can I have some time to think about it?" Tiffa responds

"Yes, I will be leaving for the academy in 2 days. You can either come with me or go back to Tarbes. The choice is yours to make Tiffa." Henrietta says

After the serious talk is over they spend some time trying to get to know each other better. Swapping childhood stories, making jokes, and just generally enjoying the good atmosphere. When they are done Henrietta shows them to their rooms and bids them goodnight.

* * *

And there is the next chapter... this one ended up being kind of lengthy but I wanted to get all of this in there... let me know what you guys think about the character sheet question and I'll see you next chapter!


	8. Lady of the Uttercold

Disclaimer: I do not own anything

A/N:

Here is the next chapter of The Discarded Hero!

* * *

Saito and Siesta headed off on their journey to Germania. Saito was kind of glad Ara had moved to the tower they captured. It was 3 days closer to the lake then her father's home was. It was going to make this trip a lot shorter and he was also excited to see his friend.

Siesta got to observe, fight, and learn about all kinds of new monsters she never heard of before on their trip to Germania. She quickly discovered Saito was like an encyclopedia of monster knowledge.

He gave her pointers on monsters weak points, when the best time to attack is, and if certain monsters had tells when they were going to attack. It was great information for Siesta even if she just mostly watched Saito while he explained what to do. It was amazing to her that he could take on a monster who could injury her easily while explaining how to defeat it.

The first time Siesta killed a monster and loot popped out she was over the moon with happiness. Of course Saito let her keep all the stuff she got when she killed something. He knew pretty soon everything they owned would be both of theirs but she looked incredibly happy at the moment and didn't want to ruin that.

When they got to the border of Tristania and Germania it was a little harder to get across then before. Since there was no formal alliance between the countries anymore they were extra cautious who they let through the border.

The guards at the fort remembered Saito from the kobold subjugation and they both got through with minimal hassle. Saito remembered to ask about the blue moon this time. He didn't want a repeat of last time and he certainly didn't want to put Siesta in that kind of danger.

Once they were on the Germanian side of the border it was pretty smooth sailing. Most of the country was relatively peaceful unless it was a blue moon. You needed to travel the mountains or the forests to run into monsters most of the time.

Saito told Siesta about the city of goods and his stay at the Dragon Inn. He promised Siesta they would stay there the next time they were in Germania but it was in the opposite direction they were headed.

After a few days of travel, which Siesta came to love more and more, they arrived at the former tower of Dark Lord Falcon and current tower of Ara... er... Dark Lady Ara I guess now?

Saito rides Dante up towards the side of the tower. He remembers seeing a stable last time he was here, it just wasn't in the best of conditions. He bet Ara probably fixed it up knowing Dante would be coming eventually. He wasn't sure how long she had been here but it couldn't have been too long. He wondered if she would have had time to deal with that yet.

When he came around the tower his questions were answered. Right in front of him, looking almost brand new, was the stables. Right above one stall that was much larger then the others was a name plate that said Dante. He could tell she made this one of the first things she repaired. _**'Obviously she wanted Dante to visit as soon as he could.'**_ Saito thinks to himself.

As they walked towards the tower Saito was wondering how he would get Ara's attention when he got to the front door. Last time he was here, he and Ara just kicked in the front door and stormed their way through. He was guessing that wouldn't be a good idea this time.

If he knocked there was probably no way she would hear unless she was pretty close to the door. They arrived at the door and Saito figured he would just knock like he was at a normal residence. Right as he was about to knock the door opened up.

"SAITO!" Ara yells giving him a quick hug

Saito was just standing there for a second, not really sure what do. The hug didn't really suprise him, what Ara was wearing did. Before he could say or do anything, Ara took a step back and looked to Saito's left.

"You must be Siesta, Saito's fiance. It is very nice to meet you! I'm Ara!" and she hugs Siesta. A lot tighter and a little longer then she did Saito.

Siesta quickly and a little awkwardly returns the hug from Ara. Saito and Siesta have both said nothing since Ara opened the door. All they could do what think at the moment and it wasn't going well for either of them.

Ara took them both in as well. Saito looked very good in the black dragon armor. Much better then just wearing some of it. Ara thought Siesta was very pretty and she even kind of looked similar to Saito. Their eyes, hair, and even complection were very similar.

When Ara first opened the door Saito couldn't believe what he saw. He knew Ara was down right beautiful and had the body to match especially since he saw that Traditional Family Battlegear she was wearing in the tower. What she was wearing now caught him completely off guard.

Ara was wearing a very tight blood red dress, it had very intricate black and silver embrodery that followed the curves of her body so perfect he thought they had to do it while she was wearing it. Her shoulders were completely exposed and there was only a small piece of fabric at the top of each arm holding the dress up. It came down to just above her knees and it was tight. Did he mention how tight this dress was? Before he could start gushing rivers of blood from his nose, he saw Siesta's hand move very quickly up towards her face.

Siesta had a few thoughts running through her mind when she saw Ara. _**'ummm... WOW she's beautiful!'**_ then it was _**'He spent a few days alone with her then came home and asked me to marry him. He really loves me more then anything.'**_ her next thought was _**'this is either going to make what I want to tell him much easier or harder maybe I could use this to see how he reacts to little things?'**_

After she was done sorting those thoughts out though she was just staring at Ara and she felt something running out of her nose. She put her hand up and realized her nose was bleeding.

"Oh I'm sorry Siesta did I hug you too hard. I don't really have any friends and I was excited to meet someone other then Saito I might be able to get along with." Ara says to her.

Saito pulls out a handkerchief from one of his pouches and puts it up to Siesta's nose. He looks a little concerned that something might be wrong. Siesta is happy for his confusion this time.

"I'm ok Saito thank you, sorry Ara I think you just caught me by surprise. I wasn't expecting such an excited hello. From what Saito told me you were pretty shy." Siesta finally says to her

"Welllll... normally I am but Saito was my first real friend and knowing the kind of person he is you must be awesome too and I wanted to make a good impression so you might also be my friend and I'm sorry I'm just rambling on and on aren't I?" Ara says now somewhat shy and embarassed.

"It's ok Ara" says Saito "I was surprised by how excited you were too but it is definitely great to see you again. About me being your only friend. We were at Lagdorian Lake a couple days ago and ran into Kirche. She said she knew you and seemed to imply you two were friends."

"Oh you know Kirche? Well, I wouldn't say we are exactly friends. It's not like we hung out or anything like friends normally do but our families have similar standing in Germania so I see her occasionally. She was never mean or rude to me like most people were. She was usually nice to me. It's probably just black sheep getting along. That's why she goes to school in Tristania instead of here in Germania like I did." Ara tells Saito

After everyone recovers from the initial surprise, Ara asks them to come in. She wants to show Saito something she found exploring the place more thoroughly.

"There was a couple places we missed when we cleared this place. After I found the map of the place they were easy to find but I want to show you this first, IT'S SO AWESOME!" she gets very excited at the end.

They walk across the first floor to were the stairs extend up the tower. Saito is dreading walking up these again. He remembers how many there are.

"And here we are." Ara points behind the bottom of the stairs. She walks over and puts her hand on the wall. She motions Saito and Siesta to talk closer then says a few words.

"Living area." Ara says

All three of them are wrapped in a bright light. When everyone is able to focus again they seem to be in a sitting area. A place you would normally receive guests if you were a noble.

"Holy crap Ara, did that just take us to the top level instantly?" Saito asks very thankful he didn't have to climb all those stairs.

"Yes we did!" Ara exclaims "I found it when I moved in. It made carrying everything pretty easy hehe. Apparently if you have the deed on you it just shows up when you get close. I can add people to use it also. I already put in you two's information just need you to follow me so it can scan your hands." Ara finishes telling them.

"Wow this place is amazing. Didn't this used to belong to some really evil necromancer? How did you make it so nice so fast?" Siesta asks her

"Well honestly, the place was pretty nice to begin with it was just over run with undead and lingering dark magic. Saito and I cleared out the undead and got rid of most of the dark magic when we came through here. I only had to dispel a couple more areas and fix the stables truthfully." Ara explains to her

"Oh you brought Dante right! Can we go see him after your scan?" Ara asks Saito

"Yes we can, we can go now if you like? We can do the scan later." Saito says

"We are already here and this way you and Siesta can come and go as you please." Ara says

After she takes them to what looks like a study, they places their hands on a slab of stone and a wave of light scans their hands. After that she shows them to their room. It's on the same floor just the opposite side of the living area.

Once the tour of that floor is complete, they take Ara to see Dante. Everyone is getting along pretty good, even Dante seems to be in a good mood today.

After Ara spends some time with Dante Saito asks her if she has some time to talk so he can tell her why they came early. They make their way back up to the living area to talk, Siesta used her hand to get them there. She thought it was the coolest thing she had ever seen. She had a feeling she was going to like adventuring.

"So Ara, the reason we have come here is too see if you were interested in some training and maybe helping me out with a magic item problem I'm sure to be having in the future." Saito says to her

"Training huh?" Ara is kind of bummed "I thought you had some free time and we could go to one of those places we found on that map."

Saito can see she is disappointed. He has a feeling she won't be so disappointed when she hears who the trainer is and what she wants with Ara.

Saito then explains to Ara just who wants to train her, what she wants to teach her, and the title the water spirit wishes to bestow upon her if she can complete the training.

It didn't take long for Ara's disappointed face to turn to one of complete joy. Saito could tell she was already going to say yes before he even got through telling her everything.

"That sounds great Saito! I know I can pass the water spirits training. I've been looking for a good challenge since you beat my Nightmare Golem and we took this tower!" Ara says to him

"That is fantastic Ara. We were kind of hoping to spend the night here and leave tomorrow morning if that is alright with you. Siesta and I would love to sleep in a real bed, even if it is just for one night." Saito says

"Sounds good Saito. Would you two care to join me for dinner? We don't have much here yet but enough for me to make us something." Ara says to them

"If you show me where the kitchen is I can make dinner for us Ara." Siesta says to her

"It would be rather rude of me to ask a guest to cook dinner right after arriving Siesta." Ara tells her

"I don't mind, I rather like cooking honestly. We can also chat some more on the way there. I'll even give you some tips if you like Ara." Siesta tells her

"Alright Siesta I see there is no talking you out of this and I would love to learn some things. I have never had to cook for myself so my dinner is usually pretty simple. Well, it has been for the last couple days since I moved here and I would love to talk with you some more." Ara replies

"Alright Saito, you go put our things in our room and get comfortable. Leave the cooking up to us women." Siesta says to him with a smile on her face

Ara and Siesta head off to the kitchen while Saito drops their things in their bedroom. He take off his armor, puts Derf in the rack on the wall and decides to test out the bed, it looks awfully comfortable.

Before he knows it, he is already taking a nap. He didn't expect the bed to be so comfortable. It might have been because he has been sleeping on the ground most of the time the last month or so.

After a relaxing nap, Saito is woken up by Siesta for dinner. They share a nice meal together and get to know each other a little more. They all go feed Dante after they are done with their meal and start helping Ara prepare to leave tomorrow. Ara tells Saito there is much more to explore in the tower but says it's nothing too important and will show them next time they are here.

Morning comes and everyone is excited to continue on to the next leg of their journey. Ara looks excited enough for all three of them. Saito understands her feelings, it was amazing being taught by the water spirit. He had a feeling Ara was going to feel even better then he did with what the water spirit wanted to train her to become.

After a few days of travel, where the three new companions learned how to best utilize each others abilities, they started to get in a pretty good battle groove.

Saito was the front liner for them with Ara behind him and Siesta behind her. Ara was serving as secondary damage dealer and support for Saito. Siesta was doing a great job making sure everyone was healed up and making sure nothing snuck up behind them. It was a flow that worked really well for them and they got pretty confident in their reliance on one another very quickly.

It felt amazing to Siesta to be adventuring and taking on monsters. It kind of suprised the former maid. Monsters used to terrify her no matter what kind they were. The only adventure she used to have was the books she used to read when she had down time as a maid. Being able to be on her own adventure seemed to really bring her to life, something Saito and Ara both noticed.

They finally arrived at Lagdorian Lake with some already good training under their belt. They arrived in the early evening and were beginning to set up camp when they were suprised by a visitor.

"Water spirit? I thought you only came out at night and when called? What are you doing here before sundown on your own?" Saito asks the spirit

"Well that is usually just when I'll give advice or help to those I find worthy, but this one! This one I had to see as soon as possible. I could sense the Dark Arts in you as soon as you approach young one. Tell me, what is your name young one?" the spirit asks Ara

"I am Ara Von Dunkler Engel of Germania. It is a pleasure to make your acquiatance mighty water spirit." Ara replies

"Oh, this one is very polite for a necromancer. I have a feeling we will get a long very well Ara. Now, I usually only train at night but I would like to get started now if that is alright with you Ara. I'm sure the Gandalfr can manage to set up a camp with his lovely bride to be without needing your assistance." says the spirit.

"Go ahead Ara, Siesta and I can set up camp. You get started with the water spirit and we will be right here if you need anything." Saito tells Ara

The water spirit tells Ara to meet her on the other side of the lake and disappears. Ara thanks Siesta and Saito and heads over to the other side of the lake.

The training with the water spirit is intense for Ara. She expected it to be a challenge but she was actually having a little hard of a time. She could pick up the water magic and cast it as a Dark Arts spell with relative ease. She had plenty of practice doing that with other spells like barrier and lightning bolt.

What she was having serious trouble with was the uttercold training the water spirit was having her do. Trying to combine water and negative energy was not that difficult but fusing it to one substance was proving to be almost too much for her to handle.

The water spirit assured her she was doing great and that no one had ever even come close to this level of her training before. She also reminded her that she didn't need to learn everything in one night. She sent Ara back to the camp to get some rest and told her they would pick it back up in the afternoon tomorrow.

The spirit wanted Ara to bring Saito and Siesta for the training in the afternoon tomorrow. She could sense the water KI in Siesta like she could in Saito but it was stronger in Siesta and she wanted to see what she could do with it.

The next afternoon everyone showed up to train with the spirit. It was tough, intense training. Surprisingly, the least exhausted one of the three was Siesta. She was just focusing on her KI and using healing abilities but she still drained he KI almost completely but didn't seem too tired from it.

Saito finally learned the water/dark KI attack the spirit promised to teach him. He knew it was incredibly powerful and also incredibly dangerous. Being able to freeze the blood of people to kill them didn't sit well with Saito, but he knew for where they were going it would either be him or them.

He had no intention of leaving Siesta alone, letting anyone else guard the princess, or leaving his new friend. He was going to do whatever was necessary to return to the people he cared about.

Once the combined training was over, everyone ate dinner together and Saito and Siesta returned to the camp to let Ara train with the spirit. They were suprised to learn that the spirit believed Ara's training would be over by tomorrow evening.

Saito certainly thought it would take more then 2 days of training to become what the water spirit wanted out of Ara. The spirit simply told him "Someone either has it, or they don't" she acted like that explained everything to him.

Ara is sitting on the ground breathing heavily, soaked in water, and freezing wondering what she got herself into.

"Congratulations young one, you are the first to ever complete my training and pass my test. As such, I bestow upon you a gift. It is both a title and an ability."

The water spirit moves over to Ara and places her had on Ara's head. Ara suddenly feels her exhaustion fade away, he soaked body dry, and her cold limbs warm up.

"Now, arise and be born anew as Ara Lady of the Uttercold." the spirit says with pride.

"Thank you spirit, I humbly accept your gift and will make you proud!" Ara exclaims

"You may call me Dalila, Ara. You have earned it, as well as my respect. You and the Gandalfr will be able to accomplish many things with your combined power. Follow your heart and it will guide you. Farewell for now and go celebrate with your friends." Dalila tells her. Then disappears into the lake.

"I will... and thank you Dalila." Ara says as the spirit disappears. She heads back over to the camp her, Siesta and Saito have been using for the last couple of days and they all celebrate her successful completion of training.

The next morning they are getting ready to head out and Ara isn't quite sure what is next so she asks Saito and Siesta.

"So, what do we do now that training is over? Do you think we could go to one of those spots on the map?" she asks. She really wants to try out her new abilities and wants another adventure.

"I'm sorry Ara we don't have the free time for that right now. We need to head to the Tristania Magic Academy and meet the princess. She is there having her soldiers train and wants me to teach the musketeer's personally. I'm sure you could come along if you like. I just figured you would want to go back home since you just moved and it probably won't be very fun. It's not like adventuring there is very little excitement in training, well unless you are training with an immortal spirit that is." Saito laughs at the end of his statement

"Well, I'm really bored at the tower and I wanted to spend some more time with you and Siesta. I finally got friends and only get to spend a few days with them when I see them." she says kind of sheepishly. Saito is wondering why she is blushing but before he can ask Ara speaks up again

"Plus, Siesta is my first girlfriend... errr... I mean friend that is a girl and I wanted to get to know her more if that is alright." Ara says

Saito is a little amused and confused by Ara. He finds it amusing that since that excited hello Ara is still kind of shy and awkward. He is really confused why she is blushing and got flustered when she said Siesta was her girlfriend. _**'Isn't that what women call their friends?'**_ he thinks to himself.

Before Saito can give Ara an answer, Siesta speaks up.

"It would be great to have you along Ara. I miss having a girl to talk to and it would be nice to get to know each other some more." Siesta replies

"Well I guess that is settled without me having any input." Saito laughs

"SAITOOOOOO!" both girls yell at him at the same time then both start laughing at their timing.

 _ **'Yeah I think this is going to be fun'**_ they both think.

* * *

At the Tristania Magic Academy...

The royal carriage rolled through the main gate of the academy without the usualy fanfare. The headmaster knew the princess was coming but she insisted that there would be no welcoming party. To make sure the sly old man couldn't plan one she decided to arrive at 11:00 p.m. All the students would be asleep and so should the staff. They would all simply wake up to her there.

She was looking forward to being at the academy. After the discovery of Reconquista, she felt like the walls of the palace were watching her. She also had Agnes go over every inch of her room and meeting room to make sure no one could or was watching.

She really needed to make some time to talk with Louise. She hadn't seen her friend in quite some time because of everything that has been happening. She was glad she made some new friends but she did miss her old friend terribly. They may have been angry at each other for a little while but they were too good of friends to let that come between them.

As the carriage comes to a stop Henrietta gets off followed by her two new friends. Tiffania and Mathilda step down from the carriage to enter the academy. Tiffania is a little overwhelmed by the size of the school. Mathilda is thinking back on the last time she was here. It was oddly comforting for her to be here. She wondered if that was just because Tiffa was here with her and she made a new friend in Henrietta. She was starting to really enjoy her life and it showed on her face.

"Welcome to the academy your highness. We have your room set up for you if you wish to sleep now." Agnes says to the princess

"Agnes it is 11 and there is no one around but us. Will you please just call me Henrietta at times like this and drop the formal stuff. I'm tired and wish to sleep so yes please. That carriage ride is always tiring." Henrietta says she doesn't think that "mom" will ever call her Henrietta but it sure is fun to try.

"If you will follow me H-H-Hen..." Agnes shakes her head "your highness I will show all three of you to your rooms." Agnes replies

Henrietta just shakes her head while Tiffa and Mathilda laugh at Agnes' attempt at saying Henrietta. They all follow her to the guest quarters for royal visitors. All three are staying here with Henrietta. Tiffa is actually royalty being the daughter of the Archduke and they both insisted Mathilda stay with them.

Everyone was exhausted from the planning and travel and just wanted to fall right asleep. Tiffa was excited Mathilda was going to take her for a tour tomorrow to get to know the school. Mathilda hoped Tiffa liked it here. She saw how happy Tiffa was to finally have some real friends and wanted that to continue for as long as possible.

Henrietta was not looking forward to tomorrow. Everyday was never ending planning after planning after planning. She needed to break it up somehow or it would drive her mad. She also knew that within the next couple days, an ambassador of sorts, was coming from Romania. All of that a long with getting everyone trained for what was coming was going to be tiring.

The next morning after everyone got a good nights rest, they all headed off for what they had planned on the first day. A lot of the students were very suprised the princess was there in the morning. They didn't hear anything about her coming.

Tiffa was having a great time on the tour with Mathilda. She got to see some of the classrooms, meet the kitchen staff, and they even had lunch in the courtyard. It was nice eating outside like this, it made her feel more at home. She also noticed some of the students were staring at her when she was walking around but then Mathilda would give them a look and they would disappear. It was weird and made her nervous.

Henrietta got up and talked with the headmaster about how long she would be here. After she was done, she met up with Agnes and finalized a training schedule for the musketeers and mages.

She knew from his message that Saito would be back in a couple of days and would start training the musketeers himself then. She was looking forward to him returning. He always made her feel any place was safe when he was there.

Right as she started to smile at the prospect of seeing Saito again a knock came to her door.

"Your highness it is Agnes, the representative from Romania is here to see you." she says through the door

Henrietta isn't really looking forward to this. She hopes the pope didn't send anyone too ridiculous. Some of the cardinals can be very difficult to deal with.

"Very well, send them in." Henrietta says.

When the door opens in walks Julio Chesaré. Henrietta has met Julio a number of times. Being the adopted son of the pope has its advantages for the young man. Henrietta knew there was another angle to that story. The pope was a ruthless man no matter what he portrayed to the public. Henrietta knew there had to be another reason he would adopt him, she just didn't know the reason.

"Good morning your majesty." Julio says with a charming smile and a bow.

"Good morning Julio. I am a little suprised the pope sent you as a representative. He usually sends a cardinal for something like this." Henrietta replies to his attempt at charm.

She admits, it probably works on just about every woman he meets. He is a good looking young man and the son of the pope. If she didn't know what kind of person he was she might feel the same as they do.

"I am simply here to show our support to Tristania in case the war in Albion spill over to your lands. As you know, we cannot spare any troops or ships, but we would like to show we stand with you." Julio tells her

"That kind of surprises me Julio. They are supposedly waging a holy war. Wouldn't you usually be on the side of those who follow Brimir?" the princess asks him

"They are simply twisting the founders words. If they were followers of Brimir they wouldn't be killing their own citizens." Julio states

"I am guessing the reason he sent you then is to enroll here and keep an eye on things for him?" Henrietta asks

"Yes you are very perceptive your majesty. I am here to enroll today and I also look forward to meeting your Blade Master. I here he is quite the swordsman." Julio says.

"I normally let you handle things your way Julio but I'm going to give you some advice. Do not approach Saito like you normally do to size up a potential ally. If you challenge him to a duel, he will destroy you. Just remember I told you that." she says to him. Now that she warned him it didn't matter if Saito put him in the infirmary.

"I'll take that under advisement your majesty." Julio says with a smirk. _**'She must be trying to intimidate me with her new toy. Nobles will make up any excuse when beaten. I bet all those stories are exaggerated.'**_ Julio thinks to himself

After that Julio takes his leave to go enroll at the school. Henrietta is glad to have the man out of her room and hopes he takes his normal route when Saito arrives. It will be funny to watch him manhandled like a child.

Now she needs to get everything ready and talk to her troops. It is going to be a busy month. She hopes they have longer but they must be ready as soon as possible.

Henrietta noticed Agnes training harder then ever after she had her talk with Saito. She didn't see her use any of the abilities Saito used but she was doing training Henrietta never thought she would see Agnes do. She was meditating, Agnes of all people.

Henrietta knew that had to do with something Saito said but she couldn't believe anyone could get that girl to meditate. Although it was pretty apparent she was having trouble with that part of her training.

* * *

Back at the Vallière estate in Tristania...

 ***SLAM*** ***SLAM* *SLAM***

 _ **'God damn that commoner!**_ thinks the Duke _**'my royal guards have been replaced because of that piece of shit, there is no longer a proper court, the royal family is acting like smitten school girls, I'm going to make that commoner pay somehow!**_ _**They said I couldn't take action against him but if some very upset former nobles happen to ask where he was and I happened to know, they didn't say I couldn't tell them where he was.'**_ the Duke grins mischeviously.

"You will get what's coming to you commoner! Go and get my daughter Louise and bring her to me. I need to talk to her." the Duke says to the butler.

* * *

Back in Tarbes...

After leaving Tiffania and Mathilda at the palace when they decided to go with the princess to the academy, Jacob arrived back at his home.

He was greeted by the whole village who had been told ahead of time about Jacob being the new Duke by the princess.

It was a great sight to Jacob. He knew he had to work extra hard to meet everyone expectation but he knew they would all be there to help him. He wished Saito and Siesta were here to celebrate too but he knew they both had things to do as well. When they returned from their journey they would have a proper celebration.

After Jacob thanked everyone for coming and showing their support, he gave a short speech to the villagers about what he wanted for them in the future. He told them about the new laws the Queen and Princess enacted and hoped everyone would strive for a better future.

After the short celebration died down, Jacob when to the fort to assess the damage. He hadn't been inside since that night. He knew the damage wasn't too severe but there would be plenty of things to fix or replace.

As he looked the place over, he got a renewed step to him. He was going to make this the best area in the whole world to live, he was determined to.

* * *

And there is chapter 8 for you... hope you guys liked it... I didn't know what to do with the character sheets so I just put them at the end of the chapter... you can check them out if you want to know any of Ara or Saito's stats, abilities, spells, or equipment... see you next chapter!

* * *

 **CHARACTER SHEETS BELOW**

 **ARA'S CURRENT POWER**

 **Level 22 (15 Dread Necromancer/7 True Necromancer), Health 160, Atk Pwr 52, Defense 25, Speed 10, Intelligence 62, Magic Points 320**

 **EQUIPMENT**

 **Black Scale Robes** **\- Main defensive item - highly resistant to slashing and piercing weapons - resistant to acid - increases dark arts casting potential**

 **Bone Wand** **\- Wand made from the femur of a Unicorn - Ara doesn't need a wand to cast magic but using this wand decreases the MP needed to cast a spell by 25%**

 **Shadow Doppleganger** **(Bob the Blob) - lesser demon that can transform depending on what creature it kills (currently a shadow wolf)**

 **Traditional Family Battlegear** **\- black leotard with silver details that outline her figure - Has no other purpose then to give Saito a nosebleed**

 **CLASS ABILITIES**

 **Lady of the Uttercold** **\- Ability/Title given to Ara by the water spirit - any offensive cold/water spell cast by Ara will do half cold/water damage, half negative energy**

 **Charnel Touch** **\- Touch atk that infuses the being touched with negative energy - damage (or healing if it's undead) depends on MP spent**

 **Mental Bastion** **\- Strong affinity with the Dark Arts makes her immune to all mental domination unless taken completely by suprise**

 **Advanced Learning** **\- every 4 levels she can learn an extra spell - spell has to either be a necromancy spell or negative energy spell (can be saved for later use)**

 **Command Undead** **\- At any one time, Ara may command any number of undead whose total levels do not exceed her level x 4 (undead created through the class ability create undead and create greater undead do not count towards this number of levels)**

 **Negative Energy Burst** **\- 2/day - 20' Burst of negative energy that harms living beings and heals undead (caster is unaffected by burst)**

 **Create Undead** **(Line level power) - 4/Day - Ghouls, Ghasts, Mummies, Spectres - immediately under the control of its creator - does not count towards total level of undead that can be commanded - requires material component (Onyx gem)**

 **Zone of Desescration** **\- 10' radius / TN level - Ally undead in area gain bonuses to HP, ATK, Speed and defense**

 **SPELLS KNOWN**

 **Cause Fear** **\- make target cower/run away in fear**

 **Summon Undead** **\- Summons a number of undead to fight for you - lasts 10 minutes per caster level - more MP spent equals more powerful undead summoned**

 **Speak with the Dead** **\- allows caster to speak with the ghost of someone who has died in the last 1 year/caster level - can ask ghost 20 questions that it will answer to the best of its ability**

 **Dark Barrier** **\- Creates a barrier of negative energy and earth to block incoming attacks**

 **Black Lightning** **\- Offensive Dark Arts/Wind spell - considered triangle level atk magic - 60' Line of black lightning**

 **Mind Crush** **\- lets caster take control over somethings mind - the higher the intelligence of the target the harder it is to control**

 **Dispel the Dark Arts** **\- Dark Arts spell that allows the caster to completely dispel the remaining magic from a Dark Arts caster's traps/magic circles/etc**

 **Guidance of Joy** **\- Return magic - Ara uses it to quickly leave explored areas - requires a carved plank only the elves produce**

 **Purify Dark Water** **\- Dark Arts/Water magic used to absorb the negative energy out of Dark Water**

 **Mind Blank** **\- Square level mental barrier magic that can prevent 1 target per day from mental domination**

 **Dark Wave** **\- Offensive Dark Arts/Water magic - creates a wave of water imbued with negative energy that drains the life out of any living creature it touches**

 **Circle of Death** **\- Square level Dark Arts spell Ara found in Dark Lord Falcon's tower - 20' radius area of atk magic centered on target - if target(s) fail to resist instant death - if target(s) resists they take negative energy damage**

* * *

 **SAITO'S CURRENT POWER**

 **Level 29 (27 Knight/2 Eldritch Knight), Health 259, Atk Pwr 83, Defense 45, Speed 30, Intelligence 21, KI Points 175**

 **EQUIPMENT**

 **Derflinger** **\- Main weapon - sentinet sword made specifically for the Gandalfr - can absorb, deflect, store and cut through magic depending on the strength of the one wielding it**

 **Blacktail** **\- .45 caliber handgun from Saito's original world - Heavily modified for maximum lethality**

 **Dante** **\- Hell Stallion Warhorse - Saito gained his companion as a reward from the necromancer Ara of Germania**

 **Magic Pouches** **\- Saito has 12 of them enchanted to carry much more weight then any pouch can - currently has 8 completely full pouches**

 **POWERS**

 **Rock Splitting Wave** **\- Earth Ki attack - Increases range of melee weapon - More power equals greater range**

 **Cyclone Slash** **\- Wind Ki attack - Creates a cyclone of wind that cuts and lifts enemies into the air - low powered attacks sends enemies flying, high powered attacks send wind blades to cut enemies**

 **Sonic Wave** **\- Wind Ki attack - Creates a wave of wind, low powered attacks result in temporary blindness (about 3 seconds), high powered attacks result in longer blindness (about 6 seconds) and a knockdown effect**

 **Judgement Strike** **\- Earth Ki attack - used to extend the range of a spear, Saito can use it to pierce with a sword**

 **Blade of Chrono** **\- Earth Ki attack - causes pillars of earth to erupt in front of user - the more ki used the wider the area of effect**

 **Power Shot** **\- Fire Ki attack - used to charge a ranged weapon with ki to deal more damage**

 **Freezing the Lifeblood** **\- Water/Dark Arts Ki atk - can only be used if Derf is infused with negative energy or it's used as a combo atk with a Dark Mage - freeze the blood in the body of any living creature caught in the area - the more KI used the larger the area**

 **(Hidden)** **\- (Hidden)**

 **SPELL LIKE ABILITIES**

 **Aqual Heal** **\- 5/day - water healing spell - powerful healing spell that will heal almost any wound**

 **Panacea** **\- 2/day - water restoration spell - spell that can restore almost any abnormal status condition**


	9. Choices

Disclaimer: I do not own anything

A/N: Here's another chapter for you... hope you enjoy it

 **Tyrant Overlord Killidia/Wargame-sama** : You never know if he signed his death warrant... maybe he is just pissed and will see the error of his ways lol... regardless I probably won't involve the rest of the family if he keeps going this route

 **OechsnerC** : i'm still not sure what happened with my updates... I did post them close to each other but not the same day... I did have to go back and edit the last chapter again when I noticed a bunch of lines missing and other ones cut off mid sentence and starting in the middle of a different one but that is fixed now so if anyone read the last chapter the first day it was posted it is slightly different now... it's not a ton of stuff just a few lines here and there

 **Dozer** : Thanks for the comment... I'm sure I'll fall back into that pattern of over explaining now and then... I wouldn't really call myself a writer I just ran out of fanfics to read so I'm writing one to kill the time lol... I do appreciate the feedback though keep it coming

* * *

Saito, Siesta, and Ara were packing up their camp getting ready to head to the Tristania Magic Academy. Saito enjoyed traveling, he truly did, but he was very happy at the idea of sleeping in a bed for an extended period of time.

The only thing he disliked about traveling was sleeping on the ground. A sleeping bag only gave so much comfort no matter how much you paid for one.

He was also starting to run out of room in his pouches from all the monster loot he has obtained throughout the last couple months. 8 of his 12 pouches were full and he had nowhere to stash all that loot. The only place he knew was secure was back in Tarbes and it was filled to the top with monster corpses to be sold as materials.

He was either going to have to make a trip to Tarbes soon and empty out that shed or pay to have something else built. He planned to do some real adventuring after all this was over with and needed the space.

What was the reason Saito was thinking about loot right at this moment? Well, you can thank or blame Siesta for that. Right as they finished packing up camp and were about to mount Dante, Siesta suggested something, which is why Saito is thinking about treasure and not the very welcoming and incredibly awkward situation he is in right now.

Siesta pointed out that since Dante didn't need to be guided by reigns that there was no reason they always needed to be on Dante in the same order. She said it would be good for everyone to know how to react from each position. Which is how Saito currently found himself in the middle of a Siesta/Ara sandwich so to speak.

Siesta was in front of Saito with her hands on the saddle, looking around like nothing was wrong in the slightest. Ara was sitting behind Saito, with her arms around his waist, head on his back, and ehem- assets pressed up against his back.

It wasn't that Saito was complaining about this but having another woman pressed up against him like this, with his fiance in front of him, was beyond embarassing for him. He had been red as a tomato since Ara put her arms around him. He tried to hold on to Siesta tight so she wouldn't get mad, then he remembered she was the one who suggested this order of seating.

After riding with an awkward silence for a few hours, other then Siesta, the group of companions took a short break to give Dante a rest and eat some lunch.

When lunch was ready, Saito noticed Siesta and Ara were quickly becoming very close friends. When they sat down to eat, Siesta sat next to Ara, directly across from Saito instead of her usual spot on Saito's side.

Saito was watching Siesta and Ara's interactions this whole time. Siesta and Ara were giggling practically the whole time he was watching them. As they continued talking and eating, Saito couldn't help but stare.

Every time Siesta or Ara would lean towards the other to whisper something Saito couldn't make out, he would start to get flustered seeing those two beauties so close to each other. He was still confused by this and decided to chalk it up to his teenage hormones going crazy at the sight of two beautiful women getting along so well. I mean, it was ok for him to look right? He wasn't actually doing anything but staring and one of them is his fiance, so it should be alright, right?

"See how flustered he is getting everytime I lean in to talk to you?" ***giggle*** Siesta whispers to Ara

"Yeah, now I see what you were talking about." ***giggle*** whispers Ara.

"Well I can tell this is going to be fun. I love Saito and seeing how he reacts to us is actually some what relieving to me." Siesta whispers to her.

"Well while I like messing with Saito, what about his reaction is relieving to you Siesta?" Ara replies

"Well that is a long story that will have to wait for another time Ara. Have you noticed he hasn't even eaten anything? *hehe* I'm going to say something about that and see how he reacts." she whispers to her before asking Saito why he wasn't hungry.

Now that Saito is completely confused about what is going on in his mind, he finally snaps out of the staring contest, no one else knew they were having, right as Siesta said something to him.

"Saito, do you not like the food? You haven't eaten anything at all yet. You have just been staring at us the whole time." Siesta says to him

"I-I-I... ummm... no it's f-f-fine Siesta. I was just... ummm... distracted and thinking about some things... t-t-that's all." Saito stutters out.

He didn't realize how hard he had been staring at the two and hadn't realized he didn't take a single bit of his lunch yet. He quickly put his head down and stared into the bowl as he ate to hide his embarassment from being caught staring at the two of them.

Once Saito finished and Siesta and Ara stopped laughing at his embarassment, they began packing up to continue the journey to the academy. Right as they were about to mount Dante again, Siesta had another great idea.

"Ok since we rode in a new order for the first part of the journey today I think we should switch it up again. So this time why doesn't Ara ride in front of Saito and I'll ride behind Saito this time." Siesta finishes

"W-W-What do you mean Ara r-r-ride in front of m-m-me?" Saito mutters out with a red face.

"What is wrong Saito? I mean, you and Ara have hugged before right? It is the same thing just from behind and a lot longer." Siesta reasons to him

"I-I-It's n-not the s-same thing Siesta!" Saito says a mix between an almost yelling and constant stutter

"Well Ara, how about you? Do you have a problem being up front?" Siesta asks her

"No that is fine with me Siesta. Saito why are you getting all worked up. It is just a horse ride. We rode Dante together when we went to the tower. Are you really that uncomfortable with me being in front? Do you not think I can handle the job?" Ara asks him

"N-No! It's n-n-not that... its j-just... ummm... nevermind. It is fine with me if it is fine with you two." he finally gets out a whole sentence without stuttering.

"Alright! Now that's settled let's get a move on! I would really like to sleep in an actual bed again." Siesta says to them.

As they mount Dante Saito isn't really sure where to put his hands. He knows he is suppose to hold on to Ara not just for his stability but for Siesta's as well. No matter what Ara and Siesta say, this is nothing like the first time he and Ara rode Dante.

Saito thought the first part of their ride today was awkward enough and it couldn't be any more awkward, boy was he wrong about that. Having his fiance's arms wrapped around him, holding him tight, while he had his arms around another woman was taking all his mental strength not to be turned on by this.

All he could do was think about everything his father had told him about being a good husband. He couldn't let something like this ruin what he and Siesta had. He thought maybe Siesta was trying to see if he was going to be faithful to her but quickly dismissed that. Siesta let him go off and travel around with nothing but a promise from him to return to her. She knew how much he loved her but he had no other idea why she would be suggesting things like this. It is the only thing that made sense to him. He would just have to keep being himself so she knew how he felt. He loved her and that was all there was to it.

When Saito finally wrapped his arms around Ara she was very glad he couldn't see her face. She had a blush on her face and a smile when she was holding on to Saito. When he was holding onto her she had the same expression on her face but it stirred up different emotions.

When she was in the back and was holding him she felt incredibly safe. It felt like he radiated a blanket of warmth and safety. She felt so safe she didn't even notice herself leaning her head on his back and letting out a content sigh.

Now that Saito was directly behind her she felt much different. She was still slightly embarassed but she also felt a different emotion, one she had never really felt before. After he was holding her for a few minutes there was only one word to describe her feelings at this very moment, lust.

While that might be a little strong of a word for what she felt at this moment, it wasn't too far off. It wasn't like she was going to rip his clothes off or anything but she felt an unmistakable attraction to Saito that went beyond what she normally felt for her friend.

These thoughts kind of made Ara a little sad. She thought she had feeling for Saito that went beyond friendship but she never felt like that before and wanted to see what they meant. Now that she knew her feelings she realized it probably wasn't a good idea to come and figure them out. She knew he was engaged and after meeting Siesta she didn't want to do anything to hurt her.

Siesta was quickly becoming someone Ara didn't want to lose. She was friendly, caring, gentle, and funny. Ara really took a liking to Siesta and now felt incredibly bad about what she was thinking about Saito. She remembered Siesta coming up to her before they left and telling her the plan to have some fun with Saito. It seemed like Siesta was doing this all in good fun. Maybe she should tell her how she feels about Saito so Siesta would stop putting her in these situation and she wouldn't have to confront her feelings for him and could just lock them away.

She knew Saito wasn't like the emperor of Germania, or any other noble for that matter, who had multiple wives or mistresses. She didn't believe for a second that Saito would marry anyone other the Siesta and couldn't see him having mistresses. She would have to figure out how to get over these feelings and be happy for Saito and Siesta.

As they crossed into Tristania they journey'd for a couple hours before setting up camp for the last time before reaching the academy. Saito had finally somewhat gotten used to the new riding arrangements but still couldn't get his mind off of what Siesta was trying to do. She seemed completely relaxed with the whole situation.

Saito even noticed Ara got a little tenser not long after he put his arms around her waist. He hoped he wasn't doing anything to make her upset.

Night fell on the group and they got into their normal routine. Saito took the first watch while Ara and Siesta slept then they would take over for him and take watch until morning so they could cook breakfast.

Almost 2 hours into his watch Saito could sense someone watching him from somewhere off in the trees. He didn't want to alert them he knew they were there, so he tried to casually walk towards the tent to wake the girls up so they were ready for an attack. As soon as Saito stood up to walk towards the tent he heard...

 ***FIREBALL!*** someone says from the trees to the right of Saito.

Saito turns towards the noise while pulling Derf out at the same time. He readies Derf as the spell is hurling towards him to absorb the spell. The fireball gets sucked right into Derf and the mage who cast the spell just stood there dumbfounded.

"So you like to attack when someone's back is turned like a coward huh?!" Saito yells at the man. "Siesta! Ara! wake up we are under attack!"

Saito pulls Derf back and thrusts him forward like he is trying to stab the man from 40 feet away. Right as he is about to finish he thrust he yells out.

 ***JUDGEMENT STRIKE!*** a light wraps around Derf and then extends out 50 feet and pierces the mage right through the heart.

As his body is falling to the ground Saito senses 3 more people on that side of the forest coming toward him and 4 more coming from the opposite direction. Saito has various attack techniques he has learned but none of them can attack in front and behind him at the same time.

Right as he is trying to figure out how to best handle this situation, Ara and Siesta emerge from the tent ready to support Saito.

"There are three on the right and four on the left. If you two can hold off the three, I will deal with the four on the left and come finish yours off when I'm done." Saito says to them.

"Hmph. I'll take the four on the left you take the three Saito." Ara says to him not really giving him and opportunity to argue. He decides its not worth arguing and will simply keep an eye on them just in case. Right as he is about to take on the three coming toward him he hears Ara say something.

 ***CIRCLE OF DEATH!*** Ara says. She is targeting the man in the middle to the right of her. Based on what she read about this spell its area should cover all four of the attackers on her side. When Ara finishes her short chant all four attacks drop over dead, bodies completely drained of life. They died seconds ago but their corpses look like they died 50 years ago.

 _ **'Hmmm... I doubt I'll be able to make undead out of their bodies if they look like that. Well anything other then just a simple skeleton. If I thought I was going to have to be careful before, now I really have to be careful how I use this spell. Although, the test was a resounding success!'**_ Ara thinks to herself about her new spell.

The look of disbelief on Saito's face was enough to make up for the fact that Ara didn't have new bodies to raise dead from. She wanted to enjoy the moment but decided it was best to just poke a little fun at him.

"What's wrong Blade Master? I'm already done, why are you just staring again?" Ara laughs at him

Saito can't really say anything. It's true he was staring but not for the reason he was last time. He had never seen any kind of magic like that before. Quickly refocusing after Ara's verbal rebuke, he swiftly made his way toward the three figures emerging from the trees.

Saito brings his weapon to his side when he reaches about 15 feet away from the three attackers. Right as they bring up their weapons to finish their charge, Saito makes his move.

 ***SONIC WAVE***

As Saito swings his weapon, you can see the air begin to shake as a wave passes from Derf to the three unsuspecting knights. When the wave reaches them a few seconds later they are all blinded and knocked down to the ground.

Saito takes this opportunity to quickly advance and give each of them a quick blow to their heads knocking them unconscious. Right as he finishes knocking out the last one he hears Siesta scream at him.

"SAITO, WATCH OUT!"

As Saito turns to her, he sees a lightning bolt coming right for him. He apparently missed someone hiding in the tree waiting to catch him off guard. He quickly brought Derf up to absorb or deflect the blast but he was too late. The lightning bolt struck him directly in the chest, sending him flying backwards in an enormous amount of pain.

Siesta was scared. She hadn't seen Saito in that bad of shape since he was attacked by the Duke and fell in the fountain. She was also very angry that someone would hide and attack him like a coward. Before she even knew what she was doing, her hand went to her rapier and she screamed out to take down the person who attacked her beloved.

 ***WIND DANCE*** Siesta yells. Her whole body gets covered in wind and she propels herself forward faster then she ever thought possible.

Ara is worried about Saito just like Siesta is and by the time she turned to deal with the attacker, Siesta had already taken off. Siesta was too close for Ara to use many of her spells. She did not want to hit her by mistake. She quickly scanned the area for other enemies while taking off towards Saito.

Siesta moved like the wind, she even dashed directly up the tree the mage was hiding in. When she reached the mages hiding spot, he was very surprised. He had no idea how she had gotten up there but he needed to deal with her so he could finish off that other commoner trash.

Before he could even mutter a single sylable, Siesta thrust her rapier directly through his chest. The hole was much bigger then a rapier would normally make because Siesta had the whole weapon wrapped in wind so fierce it was an extention of the blade itself.

She quickly removed her blade and made her way over to where Saito was laying on the ground. Ara had already made it over to him and was checking him over.

Once Siesta arrived, she quickly began using her water healing KI to heal Saito. The lightning bolt was powerful enough to knock Saito out and they were trying frantically to awaken him. As Siesta finished healing him, and his wound started to disappear, Saito finally opened his eyes.

When he opened his eyes he could see Ara and Siesta kneeling over him. He sure was glad to be alive, he didn't think he was going to survive a lightning bolt to the chest.

As he remembered how he ended up in the situation, he remember he only knocked out 3 of the knights. He didn't know how long he was out but it didn't seem like long. He quickly scanned for the three unconscious enemies. He saw all three of them, still lying there.

"Saito! Thank god you are ok!" Siesta yells as soon as she sees him waking up.

"I'm glad you are ok Saito. I'm s-s-sorry." Ara says to him

"Why are you apologizing Ara? You didn't hit me with a lightning bolt." Saito asks confused why Ara is apologizing.

"If I wouldn't have tried to act cool and make a joke, you would have been focused and not missed that mage hiding in the tree. It's my fault you got hurt." Ara says to him. Saito can see the worried and sad expression on Ara's face and knows he has to get rid of it.

"You have nothing to apologize for Ara. You didn't distract me, I saw the number of enemies and I underestimated them. Usually the nobles in this country are all about honor and glory. I didn't expect a sneak attack from the tree. I guess they are learning. If it wasn't for you and Siesta, I might be dead right now." Saito tells Ara.

He wants to make sure she knows that his injury is not her fault. If he didn't have Siesta and Ara here with him right now. He would probably be dead.

Saito makes it to his feet and gives both of them a hug for saving him. He thanks Siesta for yet again healing him and gives her a kiss. Now he wants to talk to these three. He needs to know who sent them and why. He understood he has made a lot of people angry but he wouldn't forgive anyone for trying to hurt Siesta and Ara.

As he walks up to get his answers, he pulls out a potion from one of his pouches. It is a light blue liquid in a very nice bottle. He pulls the top off and jams it down the throat of one of the knights.

"Saito, what is that?" Siesta asks him

"Oh this?" he holds up the empty bottle "It's just something I picked up from a monster. When I got it appraised in the city of goods, they told me it was truth serum. Apparently whoever drinks this will answer any question you have truthfully and to the best of their ability for one hour." Saito tells Siesta

As he finishes his explantion to Siesta, the guard woke up choking on some of the liquid he didn't swallow down his throat.

"Good morning sunshine, I have some questions for you and you will answer promptly or I will seperate your head from your neck. Got it?" Saito tells the man

The man nods his head and Saito begins questioning the man. He learns that these men where a combined group of soldiers from the former Count Mott and tax collector. They had been waiting to get their revenge on Saito and heard he was traveling from Germania with two women. They thought this was the best time to ambush him.

The man didn't really know much other then that. As the questioning was wrapping up, Saito asked Ara and Siesta to check around the perimeter and make sure everything was safe. He already knew it was, he just didn't want them to see what he was about to do.

As soon as they were out of sight, Saito pulled out Derf and plunged it through the mans chest. He then did the same with the two unconscious men and dragged their bodies off farther in the woods for the animals to have.

He returned to the camp and couldn't help but think about how much he had changed since coming here. The thought of killing anything before he came to this world was almost enough to make him sick. Now he just killed three men, not in self defense, but in cold blood. He still didn't regret doing it but it didn't make him feel good.

He knew when he chose to become Henrietta's knight he might have to kill people and not just monsters. The first time he killed a person was in Tarbes, when the Duke attacked and he saw soldiers trying to rape a villager. He knew then the kind of evil man was capable of. He was certain, if he hesitated or lacked the conviction to do what was necessary, that he would lose someone close to him.

He was not going to let anything happen to Siesta. He also promised to keep Henrietta, Ara, Tiffania, and Mathilda safe and that's exactly what he planned to do. He didn't care if he had to carry this kind of burden, as long as they were all safe.

When Siesta and Ara returned they saw Saito sitting alone near the fire. They wanted to ask what he did with the prisoners but the look on his face said it all.

Before they could get close enough for him to hear, Siesta asked Ara to help her cheer him up. They both walked up to Saito and sat on either side of him. They tried to get him to cheer up but nothing seemed to work.

Saito was glad Ara and Siesta were trying to make him feel better but he doubted there was anything in this world that could make him feel good right now.

After about an hour of no one being able to get back to sleep, they decided to just start the last day of their journey early and get to the academy.

* * *

At the Tristania Magic Academy...

 ***KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK***

 _ **'Who in the world is it now. It's kind of nice people want to make sure I'm alright but this is starting to get annoying'**_ Louise thinks to herself.

"Coming." she says

When she opens the door she is both relieved and shocked. Standing in front of her is the princess. She hasn't seen her since she returned from Albion. She immediately gets down on one knee and greets the princess.

"Welcome to my humble room, your majesty." Louise says

"Louise please, we are childhood friends. Can you just call me Henrietta when it's just us." the princess requests

"But I am just one of your servants and one that has failed you at that. I don't think it would be right, I haven't earned that." she replies

"Louise, you have not failed me and we have been friends since we were kids. There is no need for you to act like that." the princess says

"Very well Henrietta, would you like to sit down?" Louise asks

The princess makes her way over to the table and asks Louise to join her. Louise grabs some tea and pours them both a cup. They sit there silently for a while then Henrietta speaks up.

"I wanted to see how you were doing Louise. I wanted to come sooner but things have been crazy at the palace the last few weeks. How are things at school?" Henrietta asks her.

"I am doing better. I think I just needed some time to think over everything that has happened. It was overwhelming to me at first but I'm starting to get a handle on it. Anima has been a great help, he is always there when I need him." Louise says

"That is good to hear Louise. I miss my old friend. Saito told me Anima was a big help in Albion, I'm glad you have such a reliable familiar Louise." Henrietta tells her.

"Saito... I could see that your highness. Anima seemed different around him then he normally does with everyone else on our trip back from Albion." Louise tells her

The way Louise said Saito was not lost on Henrietta. She knew Louise had confusing feelings for Saito but she was pretty sure she ruined her chance to figure those out with the way she treated him.

"I also came here for other reasons then to just check on you my friend. First we will get to something I believe you will need that will answer some questions you have had for some time now."

Henrietta pulls out the founder's prayer book and hands it to Louise. Louise is surprised the princess is giving her the book and not quite sure why she is.

"I'm sure you are wondering why I am giving this too you. I believe we have figured out why you can't cast normal magic Louise." Henrietta says

Louise is on the edge of her seat. She has been wondering her whole life why she was such a failure as a mage and the princess was telling her she knew the reason why.

"You are a void mage Louise. That is why you cannot cast normal magic. I was told that this book would give you the spells you need to learn your void magic."

Louise is stunned. _**'VOID MAGE?! LIKE THE FOUNDER BRIMIR?! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?!'**_ Louise thinks to herself.

"But your highness, why do you think I'm a void mage. How could a failure such as myself be a legendary void mage?" Louise replies.

"Well, the first clue was Saito's original familiar runes. After we got some time to look into them we discovered he was the legendary familiar of Brimir, The Gandalfr. With you being unable to use normal magic without everything exploding, it makes the most sense. The founder even had a void spell called explosion. I bet that is the spell you naturally know and the prayer book will show you the whole spell one day. I'm sure of it." Henrietta tells Louise.

Louise doesn't know what to say. How could someone like her be a void mage. Although what the princess said does make sense to her. If she really was a void mage, she promised to practice as much as possible and not fail the princess again if called upon.

"Now that the business is over with I would like to ask you something else. You do not have to accept, it is entirely up to you. I know you had a rough couple weeks and don't want to force you. I was hoping you would come have dinner with Tiffania, Mathilda, and I tonight. I would like to introduce you to them. They have become good friends of mine in the little time I have known them and I would love for my childhood friend to meet them." the princess asks

"Of course princess, I can join you three for dinner tonight. It would be my pleasure." Louise states

"I see you are back to calling me princess already." Henrietta laughs "well Tiffania and Mathilda call me Henrietta when we are alone and I hope you will get used to it as well. Just come up to the guest rooms when you are done with class and we will sit down and you can get to know them better."

With all of that said Henrietta gets up from the table and gives Louise a hug goodbye. She really did miss Louise and hoped they could connect again like they did when they were kids.

Henrietta then headed back to check on the progress of those training. Saito would be here in a few days, and she not only wanted to witness his training, but run a few things by him to see what he thought. She needed a way to let loose somehow and sitting around planning training schedules and troop movements was not helping her.

In the courtyard of the academy...

Agnes was sitting on the ground trying her best to clear her mind and mediate. Saito told her the key to learning to control and use your KI was to be at peace with ones self. Agnes was having all kinds of trouble with this.

Everytime she tried to clear her mind, images of her village being burned to the ground would enter her mind. No matter what she tried, she could not shake those images from her mind.

She had been incredibly frustrated so far with the KI training. She thought maybe she was doing it wrong but a number of her musketeers seemed to be picking it up.

This somewhat infuriated Agnes, she couldn't even consider what was being called training as training for her. There was no one here, even amongst her musket squad, that were any match for her with a sword. The fact that they were picking up KI training before her left her frustrated.

She heard from the princess that Saito would be back in a few days and hoped he could help her get over this hurdle. She came to greatly respect Saito for everything he has been doing and was looking forward to training with someone who could actually challenge her.

With the thought of Saito training her to calm her a bit, Agnes tried to once again focus on meditating. After a while she got up from the ground and grabbed her sword. She wasn't getting anywhere with meditating and was going to wait for Saito. In the meantime, she would make sure her swordsman skills were sharp so she could push Saito to his limit when he arrived.

* * *

Back in Gallia...

King Joseph sat in his throne room. He was bored out of his mind. He thought being the man behind the scenes in the war on Albion would be interesting but he was already losing all interest in that war. Rebels were dragging out the war and he found it rather annoying.

He needed something else to pass his time that might actually interest him. All he wanted was for someone to make him feel something. He thought he was on to something a few times but those moments were fleeting and left as quickly as they arrived.

Sheffield tried her hardest to make him happy but he knew she never could. She only did what he asked to please her master. She was at least good for bringing him information on what could be fun but they all ended up being boring in the end.

As he was thinking over what new and exciting thing he could get into, Sheffield arrived from her latest trip to Albion. He needed to tell her to cut his ties to that pitiful country soon so he could move on.

"I am sorry master, I have failed to capture the other void mage. She had company in her little hidden village and he was much stronger then anyone I have previously encountered. He defeated my created summons with a single attack and shot down my manta ray." Sheffield tells the king.

When Joseph hears that someone defeated all of her personally created summons he thought to himself _**'hmmm... maybe that person could be interesting. I need something to do with Albion being such a pain in the ass recently.'**_

"Do you know who this person was Sheffield?" Joseph asks

"At first I didn't master but on my way back here I talked to some informants of mine. He is Saito Hiraga, Blade Master of Princess Henrietta." she tells him.

"Ohhh... Blade Master you say. I haven't heard that title in a while. Do you think he could be interesting Sheffield?" he asks her

"I believe he might be master. Shall I have our spies gather information on him?" she asks her master

"Yes but do it from a distance. I don't want to tip our hand too early. I have a task I need for you to accomplish very soon in Albion. Once you have completed that task, you are to focus all your attention on Saito Hiraga and locating the other void mages. Do not fail me again Sheffield." Joseph orders her.

After Sheffield received her orders she bows to King Joseph and heads to her quarters to prepare to leave soon again.

 _ **'I cannot fail my master again.'**_ she thinks to herself

Elsewhere in the palace...

Princess Isabella is not having a good night. When the news she had been waiting for reached her, she wanted to pull her hair out.

"How the hell did that little bitch defeat the water spirit! She should have died for sure this time! I have to find something else to kill her with now." she yells at no one in particular.

 _ **'Who knew that little bitch Charlotte would be so hard to kill. At least I get to see the look on her face every time I mention her mother.'**_ she gets an evil grin on her face.

"Go find me another problem for her to deal with! NOW!" she yells at her servant.

* * *

And there is chapter 9... hope you guys liked it... I will try to add some characters once every couple chapters that haven't been in the story for a little bit to remind everyone what they are up to... thanks for reading... until next time!


	10. Lessons and Emotions

Disclaimer: I do not own anything

A/N: so thanks for all the new votes on the poll and color me surprised... I mean Mon-Mon from out of nowhere! I think that is awesome so in honor of you who sent her rocketing up the harem poll, the start of this chapter is for you... I'll be closing the poll in about 2 weeks so get your votes in... lets get to it!

 **Me Myself and I** : the queen wasn't trying to play matchmaker like you seem to think... she didn't want Saito to marry or even be in a relationship with Henrietta... she wanted him to protect her, be a friend to her when she needed it bc louise wasn't doing what the queen had hoped, and screw her brains out when she needed it... go back to his story and read about what she did with her knights and that Henrietta's father wouldn't let her do that like her mother... the queen didn't think Henrietta loved Wales... she thought she lusted over him because she never got the experiences the queen did

 **OechsnerC** : Well since in the original story Saito is a virgin loving one woman kind of man I had to do something to get the harem started everyone wanted lol... why not use Siesta and her "books" from being a maid to make her open to "other" kinds of relationships hehe

ps. my free time has come to an end and it is time for me to return to work so the updates won't be nearly as frequent... i'm hoping for once a week if all goes well... thanks in advance for waiting

* * *

Montmorency Margarita la Fère de Montmorency has been having a terrific couple of weeks. Ever since she returned from the battle of Tarbes and received her medal of heroism from the queen, life couldn't be better for her.

Finally getting enough courage to enter a battle had been the best decision she had ever made. She knows she had help along the way building that courage but she still needed to make the choice in the end.

After the first audience with the royal family, the queen had called her back in to the palace to talk to her. She thought it was the letter for the students to take back with them and she wasn't wrong. What she didn't expect was a seperate letter for her father that the queen wanted her to deliver herself.

The queen even gave her a couple weeks to spend with her family to celebrate her heroism and the news that was in the letter for her father.

She was very excited to give this letter to her father. The queen had explained what it was and why she wanted her to deliver it personally. Ever since that talk with the queen, Mon-Mon hasn't stopped smiling.

She knew this would make her family, not only proud, but very happy. Her father had been trying since he took over the family to get to this position and she had not only been the one to elevate them there but she got to deliver the news to her father personally.

After a few days travel, with some of the new royal guards as an escort, Mon-Mon reached her families estate.

When she arrived the whole family was waiting to greet her. They had been informed ahead of time about the courage she showed in battle and the medal she received. They showered her with praise, hugs, love, and congratulations.

Once the excited reunion died down she had something she wanted to give to her father. She wanted to make sure the whole family could her the news so she handed him the letter before they even entered the house.

"Father, I have a letter from the queen for you." Mon-Mon says to her father. She has a smile so wide when handing him this letter, it stretched from ear to ear.

"Do you know what this letter is about Mon-Mon?" her father asks

"Go ahead and read it father, make sure everyone can hear you. I think everyone will want to hear this news." she tells him

Her father breaks the seal on the letter and begins reading it to himself before letting everyone else hear the contents of the letter. Mon-Mon can see the look of shock, disbelief, and happiness that are plastered all over her fathers face. When he finishes reading over it, he begins reading the letter for all in his family to hear the news.

"Lord Montmorency, myself and Henrietta are very proud of the courageous actions your daughter took at the battle of Tarbes. We knew your family had always been loyal to Tristania and its crown. Your daughters actions have shown us your commitment to not only the crown but also to its people. By putting herself in harms way to protect the people of Tarbes she has shown your families resolve and determination for Tristania. As such, we would like to request that you, on top of your royal potion maker duties, also become an advisor to the crown. This is not an order, it is a request. If you accept, you will need to move to the capitol to be available for console. We would like you to think it over and send your reply back with your daughter after her short vacation with all of you has ended. We look forward to hearing your reply. Queen Marianne de Tristan"

After her father reads the letter, her whole family is completely silent for a few seconds then the erupt into cheers. They all know how badly he wished to be elevated to an advisor position.

It was the ultimate sign of respect from the royal family to have your opinion be one of those heard for important matters. Now, his daughter had put the final piece into place for him to be in that position.

He looked at his daughter with pride and a little bit of a misty eye. He quickly embraced her, picked her up off the ground, and swung her around. Mon-Mon had never seen her father so affectionate towards anyone in her whole life. It took her by surprise at first but then she hugged him back and enjoyed the moment.

Once their hug was finished and the family recovered from the shock of their family head showing so much affection, he had to know what changed in Mon-Mon to make her enter a battle.

"Daughter, I am incredibly proud of you but I must know. What changed for you? We all know you were never one for battle so what changed your mind?" her father asks her.

"Well father, I wasn't the only one there so it wasn't like I was fighting by myself. I also had lots of friends there with me, but if I had to point to one thing, it would be the courage and determination I saw in the one leading us in Tarbes." before she can continue her father interrupts.

"Oh you must be talking about Guiche daughter. I knew getting you two engaged would be a good idea." her father says

"While Guiche was there father, that is not who I am talking about. I am talking about Saito Hiraga father, the princess' Blade Master. He did not fight for honor, glory, or anything we have been taught growing up. He fought to protect the people of Tarbes and those he holds dear. It was a cause I had never even thought of before but it gave me all the motivation I needed to help in that battle." Mon-Mon tells him

After her father had some time to think about her words, he finally had a look of understanding on his face. One would might much harder, longer, and more ferocious to protect what they loved.

He was not a fighter by any stretch. Their family was know as healers and potion makers but he knew the extent he would go if someone threatened harm on his family. He could only imagine the destruction a Blade Master could cause to fight for those he loves.

Once everyone calmed down, they all went inside to spend some time together and talk about the new direction their family was headed in. Everyone in the estate was smiling and Mon-Mon hoped it would never end.

She would spend some time here to celebrate then head back so she could start training again. She heard the queen opened up enlistment to anyone willing and she wanted to help heal those who were battling for their country.

She knew Saito would be there and looked forward to what he was going to do next. He had singlehandedly changed her opinion of the world. For the last couple weeks he dominated her thoughts. Everytime she would think of something that normally reminded her of Guiche, Saito would appear to her instead.

She gave Guiche all the breaks she could but she didn't think she could handle his ladies man attitude anymore. She certainly had feelings for Guiche, that she couldn't deny, but he was slowly erroding those away with his antics. She thought he would grow out of it but he has just gotten worse since he received his medal. She knew Saito would change the world again somehow. She couldn't wait to be there when he did it again.

With thoughts of being by Saito's side when he changed everything again, Mon-Mon returned to her family and their celebration. She would enjoy this time with her family then get back to school and training for the future.

* * *

Saito felt terrible. Not only did he kill 3 men but Siesta and Ara had been trying to cheer him up the whole time but nothing worked. They had both pretty much stopped talking and he hoped he didn't bring his depression on to them.

He needed a proper sleep and a day to just rest. Running around like this was really starting to wear him down. He liked traveling, he really did, but traveling for almost 4 straight months was too much even for him. He just wanted to find a comfortable bed, wrap his arms around Siesta and sleep for a whole day.

Unfortunately for Saito, he knew he would have to start training the musketeers when he reached the academy. He hoped the princess would give him a day to just rest but he was prepared to train them immediately if she wanted him too.

Siesta was thinking about the ambush earlier. She killed a man and didn't think twice about it. What had her thinking was that she didn't seem to mind it. It didn't bother her at all.

Ara was still thinking about trying to cheer up Saito. She was not very good at cheering people up. She didn't have any other friends so she had no experience with something like this. If Siesta's ideas and words couldn't cheer him up, Ara had no idea how she could. She started thinking of the new undead she could make with her new abilities to distract herself from the fact she could cheer up Saito.

While everyone was lost in thought they arrived at the main gate of the academy. Saito knew there would be more then students here training, but he had no idea how many people.

He could see that the changes the queen and princess made had gotten them the benefit of loyalty from the people. It seemed to Saito that their offer of training in case of invasion brought the entire country of Tristania. There wasn't actually that many here but it sure seemed like it to Saito.

As Saito entered the courtyard all eyes turned towards his direction. They all watched Dante ride in with Saito, Siesta, and Ara. A lot of the people wondered who the whited haired girl with Saito was.

Saito looks around and sees the princess approaching. He quickly dismounts Dante, helps Siesta and Ara down, and kneels down in front of the princess right as she arrives.

When Henrietta saw Saito coming, she got excited he was back. As she got closer, she saw Siesta who she knew would be coming, but she didn't know the other girl with them. White hair, red eyes, and wearing a robe made of black dragon scales. She thought to herself _'not another one. Does he just attract beautiful women?'_ When he kneeled she got a little disappointed. She thought they were past all this, especially with the changes they made.

"Hello your majesty, I have returned from the water spirit and am ready to serve again." he says

"Saito I wish you wouldn't do that. Why can't you just say, hello Henrietta it's nice to see you?" she asks

"I think it is more appropriate for me to you address you as your majesty in front of all these people your highness." he responds

"I finally got Tiffa and Mathilda to call me Henrietta everywhere we went and now it's your turn." she laughs "I'm pretty sure about half the people staring at you right now are here because of you Saito. The other ones are probably staring at these two hehe." she points to Siesta and Ara.

"Hello your majesty." Siesta bows

"Greetings your highness, I am Ara Von Dunkler Engel of Germania, Lady of the Uttercold. It is a pleasure to meet you." Ara says

"Lady of the Uttercold? That is an interesting title Ara. How did you come to be called that?" Henrietta asks

"It was bestowed upon me by the water spirit when I completed my training." she replies

"Ohhh... you were training with the water spirit like Saito was?" Henrietta asks.

"Yes your highness, all three of us trained with the water spirit." Ara replies

"Siesta, you trained with the water spirit? Does this mean you can use water magic?" Henrietta asks

"No your highness, I am training to use KI and like magic one of the elements of KI is water. It happens to be my affinity and the water spirit helped me learn to use it like water healing magic." Siesta replies to her

Henrietta is impressed. Not only did Saito train with the water spirit but Ara and Siesta did also. She didn't realize KI was so much like magic and that the water spirit could train Siesta to use it.

She was also kind of jealous the got to do something other then plan. It was getting very boring but she had some ideas to run by Saito in that regard. She wanted to ask him now but he looked like he needed a good rest.

"Saito, why don't you, Siesta, and Lady Ara go rest for the day and we can talk about training and other things tomorrow?" Henrietta says.

"I would very much appreciate that your highness. It has been a long trip and I could use some rest." Saito replies

Just as he is about to walk in the tower and head to his room for some rest, he sees someone standing in his way. He is a blonde haired kid that he is sure the women think is attractive but what catches Saito's eye is the glowing runes under his right glove. He figures he wears them to cover them up. So far the only other human familiar he met was not a nice person. He hoped this one was as big of a pain in the ass.

"Here I was looking forward to dueling the Blade Master of the princess but I come to find out he gets tired just from riding a horse. That is very disappointing." Julio says

Saito can see this familiar is just as much trouble as the other just in a different way.

"I don't know who you are, and I don't care. I am not in the mood right now to deal with your arrogant nonsense."

"Julio, I would let him pass if I were you." Henrietta says

"I can see the stories about you were exaggerated, nobles will say anything to keep what dignity they have left." Julio says

"You want a duel? Fine, here are my rules. Well rule, we fight to the death. How's that sound to you?" Saito says

Everyone is surprised by this. They know Julio went a little overboard but didn't expect this kind of reaction from Saito. Julio can't believe that is his stipulation for a duel. He wanted to test out this so called Blade Master, he didn't want to kill him, just embarass him. After a few moments of no response from Julio, Saito speaks up.

"What's the matter? Too high stakes for you? If you want to test my abilities, try killing me like everyone else does or get the fuck out of my face before I tell all these people who you really are." Saito tells Julio

Having someone talk to Julio like that sends him into a rage and he draws his sword. Saito sees this and dashes in front of him right as he draws his sword.

He grabs Julio's sword hand with his left hand and wraps his right hand around Julio's throat while lifting him off the ground. Julio starts to bring his knee up so he can hit Saito in the face since both his hand are occupied and he has no way to defend against it.

Saito release his grip on Julio's throat and brings his right elbow down on Julio's kneecap. Everyone could hear it shatter. Right as Julio was about to touch the ground again Saito kicked him right in the chest, sending him flying 15 feet into the wall behind him. Saito still had Julio's glove and sword in his left hand exposing Julio's familiar runes for everyone to see.

"That is what you get for being an arrogant little prick Vindálfr." Saito looks around and sees almost all the students who were at the academy when he was Louise's familiar looking concerned for Julio and it set him off.

"You see, this is what is wrong with you fucking people." he points at the students "you fawn over this piece of garbage because he is pretty and you think he is important. He is nothing but a fucking familiar just like I was when I was here and you treated me like I was less then trash. Thank god this country has Princess Henrietta leading it or I'd kill all you worthless fucks." they all take a step back in fear. Henrietta walks up to Saito to calm him down.

"Saito why don't you go rest and try to forget about this. Siesta, Ara, can you take Saito to his room so he can get some rest please?" she asks them

"Yes your highness, that sounds like a good idea. Come on Ara let's go find our rooms too." Siesta says. She walks up beside Saito and wraps her arms around his. This always seemed to snap him back to reality no matter what was going on.

As Saito felt Siesta grab his arm, he calmed down enough to bow to the princess and let Siesta lead him to their room. He definitely needed to calm down, he hoped Siesta wouldn't mind laying down with him for a bit. It always helped him relax.

As he walked past Julio he says a few words.

"Aqua Heal." Julio gets healed up. "That is your one warning Vindálfr. You don't get a second." and he walks off with Siesta and Ara.

After Saito walks away everyone has different thoughts running through their minds. The only one who said anything was Henrietta. She walked right up to Julio as he was getting to his feet.

"I told you not to test him Julio. You should be lucky he didn't use any of his weapons. Although, it might have been more embarassing for you to be manhandled like that in front of all these people when you drew a weapon and were easily defeated by his barehands. I would leave him alone if I were you." she tells him

Kirche can't believe what she just saw. Finding out Julio was a familiar was a shock but she knew Saito wasn't talking about her. She had been trying to get him since he got here and she never treated him like that. She was pretty surprised to see Ara with Saito. She was going to have to talk to her later and find out what she is doing here with Saito.

Tabitha didn't really care about anything that happened except when Saito said he was trained by the water spirit and used a very high level healing spell. She noticed a glow come from under his left arm guard. She wondered what else the water spirit taught him.

The students who knew he was talking about him were terrified. They fawned over Julio not only because he was good looking and the son of the pope but also because he was a great swordsman. To watch him be treated like a child with Saito's barehands sent a chill down all their spines.

Agnes and the musketeer's were shocked at Saito's actions. They had never seen him so angry or intimidating before. Agnes thought if he could be that angry and still use KI maybe there was hope for her after all.

The commoners who came to train and join the army were reassured in their decision. They watched their champion handle an expert swordsman like he was a child. They had never seen someone move so fast and with so much power.

Once they got up to their rooms Saito just wanted to lay in bed forever. He hoped Siesta wanted to rest too. As they got in front of their door Saito asks.

"I am going to try and sleep. Siesta, would you care to join me? I could really use some cuddle time right about now." he says

"Sure Saito, I think we could both use that. Do you want Ara to join us? I know you could use some extra cuddles and I'm sure she is tired too." Siesta says

"I-I-I think I'll l-l-leave that t-t-to you S-Siesta." Ara stutters out and then takes off towards her room. She was thinking about telling Siesta she couldn't play in her teasing Saito game anymore because of her feelings. There was no way she would survive cuddling with him.

"Well that was strange on two fronts." Saito says "One why was Ara so flustered and two, why in the world would you ask if she wanted to cuddle with us?" he asks her. He has a good idea Siesta and Ara were messing with him and thats the reason for switching positions on the horse and all the other things they were doing. So why did she get so flustered all of a sudden?

"Well, I know you are not feeling the best right now and thought you might need the extra love." Siesta replies.

Saito is starting to get suspicious of how nonchalant she is about him hugging and cuddling other women. He is going to have to ask her about this soon but right now he needs to lay down.

As he lays down and grabs Siesta he quickly drifts off for some much needed rest. He would have to talk with the princess tomorrow and start training. He needed to clear his mind if he was going to be able to do his job properly.

The Next Day...

Saito wakes up feeling completely renewed. He has no idea how long he slept for but it was definitely needed. He reached out to grab Siesta and found her not there. He wondered where she went to. Right as he was about to get out of bed, the door opened. It was Siesta with a tray in her hands.

"Ah good morning Saito, I knew you would be up soon. You did sleep for a while." she says

"Good morning beautiful, is that breakfast for me?" he asks her

"It sure is. Fresh from the kitchen. I made it myself." she says

"You know you don't have to do that Siesta. They could have made it and brought it up for us."

"While that is true, I like cooking and I really like cooking for you. Plus, you know it's not poisoned." she laughs at the end.

"Thank you Siesta, are you going to join me?" he asks

"Yep, I got two plates under here. I asked Ara if she wanted to join us but she said she already ate." she replies

"Well after breakfast I should probably talk to the princess and figure out who I'm training and when. For now, let's enjoy breakfast together." Saito says

Now that the delicious breakfast Siesta made is over, it is time to talk to the princess. He hoped she wasn't mad about yesterday. It didn't seem like she was.

"Good morning your highness." Saito says to Henrietta

"Saito didn't I tell you to call me Henrietta?" she asks him

"I'm sorry Henrietta, it has been a long few days. Seems I'm not as recovered as I thought I was." he tells her

"That is alright Saito. I would just like to talk about training today and if you are up to it, I would like you to try and help Agnes. Her sword training is beyond everyone elses like normal but she seems to be having trouble with your KI training." Henrietta asks him

"That is fine. I will try to help her as best I can. What did you have in mind as far as me training."

"Well, I want you to train the musketeers to use KI and I also wanted you to train with me." Henrietta says

Saito is a little confused by her last statement. He was her knight and protector, he wasn't quite sure why she would want to train with him.

"I can see you are confused Saito. I will tell you why I wish to train with you. You are a Gandalfr, you protect your mage until they can cast spells against all enemies, even an army it says in the ancient text. I am going to lead the army if, no when we go to war with Reconquista. We need to be able to coordinate our attacks, learn each others capabilities, and figure out the best way we work together. I will not sit safely in the palace or the academy while my people go to war for me. I will lead them in either victory or defeat." Henrietta says

"To be honest Henrietta, I am completely against it. If you die in battle, everything you have done for your people, could be lost but it doesn't surprise me at all. It sounds just like you. Trying to do what's best for your people. It is why I respect you so much and will do anything to protect you even if it means losing my own life." Saito says to her

"While I appreciate that Saito, you are not allowed to die on me. I have plans for the future and they don't include you dying." Henrietta replies.

"I will do my best Henrietta." Saito says

"Good now, go see Agnes. I believe she should be training already. That woman never rests."

In The Courtyard...

Saito sees Agnes training just like Henrietta said she would be. There isn't anyone else around except them. He needed to talk to her about her training so he could try to help.

He goes up to Agnes and asks how she has been, what training she has been doing, and how the KI training is coming along.

She seems quite frustrated with the KI training so he decides to watch her meditate since he can sense a persons KI and usually see if there is something wrong.

As he is observing her meditate, he notices he KI is not only unstable but also very random. Some times it is like she has none, other times it is like she is overflowing with KI. _'She must have something bothering her deep inside her to cause this kind of reaction'_ he thinks

He asks her what is troubling her and she tells him about her village. How everytime she tries to calm her mind those images pop in her head and she can't shake them. Saito is horrified at what she is going through. He really doesn't have a way to help her with this.

After he contemplates for a bit, he realizes he might have one way to help her. It might be a long shot but it is the only thing he can think of that might relate to her situation.

"Agnes please dont punch me for what I am about to do" Saito says

"Saito, what are you talki-"

Agnes' words are cut off when she feels her legs leave the ground and feels a gentle breeze wrapping around her whole body. She looks down to see there is actually, a slightly visible wind aura surrounding her. She follows the aura and sees Saito wrapped in the same aura, princess carrying her, and they are _RUNNING UP THE SIDE OF THE ACADEMY!_

When they get to the top of the spire, Saito sets Agnes down and takes a step back to apologize.

"Sorry about that Agnes, I had something I wanted to talk to you about and I thought this was the best place for it." he tells her.

"You could have just asked!" she says and punches him in the shoulder. Not hard, just enough to make sure he knows to ask a woman to carry her before he just goes and does it.

"Ouch that hurt" he lies exaggerating his injury

"What a cry baby, I thought Blade Masters were suppose to be tough" she repies

After the mood is back to normal Saito gets to why he brought Agnes up here. He thinks maybe telling her this will maybe help her move on. It is the only thing he can think of he has to offer her in terms of help and he trusts her with this information.

"Agnes, I want to tell you a story about myself and I think it might help you as well. I'm sure you have been checking into my backround like you would with anyone who gets close to Henrietta. I'm guessing all you have figured out is that I grew up in Tarbes, used to be the familiar of Louise and I hunt monsters. The reason is because I am actually from Tokyo, Japan. I already know what you are thinking, you never heard of such a place. That is because it is from another world. I am from another world. " he stops waiting for a reaction to his confession. He is kind of surprised she isn't shocked.

"While that would probably shocked most people, it kind of makes sense to me. I know sometimes items from other worlds end up here." she points to his Blacktail "normally it would sound strange for a person to be from another world, it makes sense in your case. When I looked into you I found exactly what you said, but something made me very curious. That was your whole history. You had no other information other then that. Even the villagers of Tarbes just gave very generic answers when asked about your past." she replies to him

While he is relieved at this, he is also worried his story won't have the impact he thought it would on her.

"The reason I tell you this is because I didn't come here willingly. That is not to say I want to return because I don't. I would like to let my parents know I'm doing fine but I want to stay here. While I know it's not the same as what happened to you, I was ripped away from everything I loved without a choice also. I made the choice to move on with my life because I knew that is what everyone I loved would have wanted." he turns towards Agnes to look at her " I'm sure your family would have wanted you to do the same. Until you move forward, you will always be stuck where you are."

"I kind of understand what you mean Saito. The first judge we discovered to be a traitor was actually the man who gave the order to burn down my village. When I killed him I didn't feel any different than I did before I killed him. I didn't feel any relief or happiness, I just felt... empty... I will try to move on but I'm not sure it will be so easy for me Saito." she tells him

"Don't worry Agnes, I'll be right here if you need me" he replies

To his shock, Agnes hugged him.

"Thanks Saito, you are like the brother I always wanted." Agnes says to him

"Oh brother huh, since you treat Henrietta like your daughter, are you building your mother hen nest Agnes?" Saito jokes with her.

"Very funny Saito, but you should know not to make "mom" angry." as she bops him on the top of the head.

After a great exchange that both of them needed, they went back down to the courtyard with some assistance from Sylphid.

* * *

And thats all she wrote for Chapter 10... If you noticed there is one less chapter it is because I took away chapter 1 (saito's character sheet) and simply added it to the end of the new chapter 1 (the actual first chapter in the story)... thanks for reading...


	11. Friends in Need

Disclaimer: I do not own anything

A/N: I've had a couple questions about the harem poll so I'll break it down for you a bit so you understand why it is there... Just because someone is in the harem poll does not mean they will be in it... the order will be decided by how I write them in but I will let you know that the top 2 at the end of the poll will definitely be in the harem... other then those 2 it will be up for grabs... the 2 main reasons for joining the harem if they are not in the top 2 are going to be 1) my selfish desires lol I like to do relationships people never write so keep that in mind... unless you read my Overlord fanfic also then you probably realize I have an unhealthy obsession with Albedo 2) reviews and feedback from you guys... the more you push for someone the more likely I am to include them... just don't go all psychopath on me... I had a dude send me 17 messages in 18 hours after he read my Overlord fanfic please do not do that lol... now to answer some reviewers... if I missed you I will answer you in the next chapter... which I'm going to try to upload every Friday night

 **Guest** : thanks for the praise... I appreciate it immensely especially since I think I got a long way to go to be even a decent writer

 **Knorles** : I was disappointed too thats why I started writing this fanfic... the last chapter with Mon-Mon was because of everyone who voted on the poll and sent her from tied to last to fourth so I wanted to let everyone know what had been happening with her

 **Me Myself and I** : to be honest I wasn't going to answer you again... i'm not trying to sound like a dick but it doesn't seem like you know much about the world of FoZ... the reason they needed to prevent Wales and Henrietta's relationship from coming out is bc of the type of society FoZ has... Saito is a commoner even as a royal guard he is still a commoner... sleeping with a commoner before or after you are married doesn't count in the eyes of royalty/nobles... that is why the queen was banging her knights before and after she got married to the king... they didn't count in their eyes bc they were commoners... Wales is a Prince and her cousin so that poses a huge problem in the eyes of all nobility in this world... so if you are royalty or even a noble it is ok to bang as many commoners as you like as long as you use the spell to prevent disease and pregnancy... but you cannot bang another noble, royalty etc unless you are married to them... also Henrietta and Wales never had sex from what I read in GatsuBerk's story... I remember Henrietta saying in the chapter Saito found out she was 20 that she thought the reason Wales didn't claim her was because she was old... hopefully that clears up your misunderstanding

PS. I wasn't quite sure if what Siesta and Ara talk about would be considered mature so I changed the story rating... you can never be too careful nowadays... everyone is offended by everything lol...

Now lets get to the chapter!

* * *

Ara had been waiting in her room for Saito to leave for his meeting for a while now. She really needed to talk to Siesta and she knew the longer she waited to talk to her the harder it would become and she would just chicken out and never do it. She didn't want to leave her new friends. They all were becoming very close in a sort amount of time but she thought if she stayed around them too long, she would ruin what friendship they had.

It certainly wasn't easy for Ara to do this. She had been alone practically her whole life, even most of her family disliked her. Now that she finally found two fantastic friends, who meant everything to her, she was going to have to leave or ruin it because of her feelings for one of them.

As soon as she heard Saito leave for his meeting with the princess she wait a few seconds so she knew he wouldn't be near and quickly left her room. She wanted to talk to Siesta immediately. When she exited her room she was met with a sight she was not expecting.

"Hey Ara, long time no see." Kirche says

"O-O-Oh hey Kirche. What can I do for you?" Ara says

"Why so flustered at seeing me Ara? We have known each other for a while now. I know we aren't exactly friends but I always thought we were at least nice to each other." she says

"Ah it's nothing Kirche. I was just thinking about something and you caught me off guard." Ara replies

"Let me guess, you were thinking about Saito?" Kirche says with a grin.

Kirche could immediately tell she hit the nail on the head from Ara's reaction. She still wanted to hear how Saito and Ara met but she was certain, Ara had feelings for Saito. This didn't surprise her in the least. Kirche was hard pressed to think of a woman who didn't spend time around Saito who didn't have some kind of feelings for the man.

"So that is a yes since you don't know what to say." she giggles "don't worry Ara, you are not the only one. It seems to be a side effect from being around Saito." Kirche finishes

"What do you mean by that Kirche?" Ara asks

"You think you are the only one besides Siesta who loves Saito? I can guarantee there are at least three other women, other then Siesta and yourself, who feel the same way about him. I should know, I am one of them."

Ara is a little taken a back by Kirche saying that. She knew Kirche loved to play with mens feelings and get them to do things for her but she never even came close to uttering something like love. Maybe what Kirche said was true and it was just a side effect of being near Saito.

He certainly didn't treat women the way other men did. That was also kind of the problem for Ara. If he was like other men he wouldn't have a problem with two women loving him but then again if he was like those other men would Ara feel this way about him? She had no idea and her talk with Kirche only confused her more instead of helping.

"Well, thanks for the talk, all you did was confuse me more. I need to go speak with Siesta, maybe we could catch up later on?" Ara says

"Oh, off to talk with wife #1 huh? Are you two plotting something? I could tell from the way you and Siesta calmed down Saito in the courtyard that you are pretty close with both of them." Kirche says

"Siesta is my best friend! That is why we are close! See you later Kirche." and Ara walks off toward Siesta's room. Unfortunately for her, it was right next to hers and Kirche was only about 15 feet away when she was knocking on Siesta and Saito's door. It was kind of awkward for her.

Kirche just laughs at the sudden outburst by Ara. All it was, was confirmation that Ara had feelings for Saito. This was starting to get very complicated with too many rivals for her liking. She didn't mind Ara but she knew there were plenty of others just like her.

 _'At least Ara has the advantage over most of them because of that body of hers. She might actually stand a chance. She looks like a paler version of Siesta in my eyes.'_ Kirche thinks to herself

She did not usually cheer for her rivals for Saito's affection but she knew how Ara had been treated her whole life. If it wasn't going to be Kirche she hoped it was Ara. She deserved to be happy and be loved and Kirche knew Saito was just the right person for that. It was why she was so head over heels for him.

When Kirche finally turned and left, Siesta answered the door to find Ara standing there. Ara actually looked kind of flustered. Siesta looked down the hall and saw Kirche going around the corner. She figured she had something to do with it.

"Hey Ara, was that Kirche I saw just now leaving? Did she say something mean to you?" Siesta asks. She might not be a noble but she wouldn't let anyone talk down to her friend. Ara was being much more help then she even realized to Siesta and Siesta felt like she had a new best friend in Ara.

"Y-Y-Yeah that was Kirche Siesta and no she didn't say anything mean to me. Do you think I could talk to you in private for a moment?" Ara asks Siesta

"Sure Ara, anything for my best friend! I mean, sorry, I didn't mean to presume I was your best friend. I just... nevermind, come in." Siesta says

"Thank you Siesta and don't worry. I feel the same about you as you do about me." Ara says

"I doubt that." Siesta whispers to herself

"What was that Siesta? I couldn't hear you." Ara says

"Oh it was nothing Ara. So, what would you like to talk about?" Siesta asks

It hadn't been long since she decided to have this talk with Siesta but she was already starting to chicken out. Kirche had done a number on her brain and now she was confused as ever. She still needed to tell Siesta how she felt. She did not want to lose her as a friend and it wasn't like Siesta didn't know where she lived. She could visit when she got the time.

"This is hard for me to say Siesta but I think it would be a good idea for me to go back home." Ara says to her

"Why do you say that Ara? I thought we were getting along great. Did I do something to make you want to leave? What is something Kirche said to you? I will go have some words with her if you want me to." Siesta asks her

"No Siesta you did not. I am the one who did, or I guess is, doing something and it is probably best if I leave. The truth is..." Ara is hesitant to tell Siesta her feelings for Saito. She doesn't want her to hate her for this. Ara knows how hard good friends are hard to come by let alone best friends. "I think I am in love with Saito and I don't want to let my feelings for him ruin our friendship, so I think it is best if I go home." she finally tells Siesta.

It is like a huge weight has been lifted off of Ara only to be suddenly replaced with one even heavier. When she looks at Siesta for a reaction, she saw an emotion she did not expect, relief.

Siesta was very worried her friend wanted to go home. She never thought she would make a friend she felt closer towards then Ara. She certainly never expected it to be a noble from another country. When Ara told her the reason she wanted to leave, she felt exactly like she looked, relieved.

"Ara, that is not a reason for you to leave. I have known about your feelings for Saito since I met you."

"H-H-How could you know? I wasn't even sure then." Ara says

"It was easy to figure out. You have the same look in your eyes when you look at Saito that I do. Noticing a girl in love is not that difficult when you are in love yourself, especially when it is with the same man." Siesta tell her

"If you knew I felt that way, why did you have me tease Saito with you like that? Were you just rubbing it in my face that you are with him?" Ara says getting kind of annoyed with Siesta now.

 _'I didn't want to have this conversation with her yet but I guess I have no choice. She was brave enough to tell me the truth, now it is time I do the same'_ she thinks to herself.

"No Ara, I would never do something like that to you. I wasn't lying when I said you were my best friend. I didn't want to talk to you about this until we spent more time together but I will repay your honesty with my own. The truth is, being raised a commoner with a decent figure, I always assumed I would become some nobles plaything. I let the fantasy of the books I was reading take over my imagination and I would dream of the perfect relationship with my noble master, his wife and me. Although I have never acted on anything like this, I find I am attracted to women just as much as I am men. At least I think I am since I have never done anything with a woman. I have never told anyone this, not even my cousin Jessica knows this about me. The idea actually gets my excited to share Saito with another woman I trust, but as you know Saito isn't that type of man. I asked you to tease Saito with me to warm him up to the idea of it because I knew your feelings for him. I was hoping that other person would be you because you are smart, funny, beautiful and caring but I understand if you want to leave because of what I just told you."

Siesta hasn't looked at Ara since she told her she would be honest with her. She has just been staring at the ground. She thought if she looked at Ara she would not only lose the nerve to tell her the truth but she would see the look of disgust on her face when she told her she thought she was attracted to women. When she finally did look at Ara, she couldn't tell what she was thinking. She had no expression on her face and it worried Siesta.

Ara was quite surprised by Siesta's confession but Siesta didn't see that because she was looking at the ground. Once Siesta got through her whole talk, Ara finally understood why Siesta got a nosebleed the first time Ara hugged her. It had to be the same reason Ara got a nosebleed every time she thought of the time she saw Saito naked.

Ara had never thought of something like that before. She had to admit, since she was thinking about Saito having multiple lovers, it might happen that more then 1 of them were with Saito at a time. She wasn't sure how comfortable she was with the idea of her being one of those three but it certainly didn't lessen her feelings for Saito at all. She realized she hadn't said anything to Siesta and she was starting to get a worried expression on her face.

"Sorry for not saying anything. I was taking in everything you told me Siesta. First, I do not want to leave because of what you just told me. Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me something you have never told anyone else. Second, I understand your reasoning. It is a sad fact that what you were talking about happens to far too many people. I'm glad you found Saito, you deserve him. Lastly..." Ara actually starts to blush "thank you for saying all those nice things about me, but I believe you are also describing yourself. To be honest, I doubt Saito will ever love anyone but you Siesta. He is just that kind of person and why so many women have feelings for him." Ara finishes

"Well Ara, I belive you are wrong about him loving anyone other then me. I am pretty sure, even if he would never admit it, that Saito also loves you. I know he has strong feelings for Princess Henrietta, I'm just not sure if it is love or more like a brother protecting his sister but he definitely does have feelings for her. Kirche is the most obvious woman in this world, and I have no problem with her either. She is very outgoing and although I used to compete against her for Saito's affection, you know what it means to be the first wife to someone here. That is why I no longer get jealous over her clinginess. She also doesn't act like that anymore. Still the same but she approaches it differently. I saw her at the academy, she would just play with boys for fun but she doesn't do that with Saito."

"She told me before I came in to talk to you that she loved him. My experience with her is the same as you say. She just plays with boys and I honestly never thought I would hear her say she loved any man. I guess Saito does that to people. She got a bad reputation in Germania because of her outgoingness I guess i'll say, but she isn't actually like that. She may have kissed a bunch of guys but that is as far as she goes with them. She just likes toying with them so they will do things for her." Ara says to her

"Well I hope you don't want to leave still. I know you might see me differently now or be uncomfortable around me but I'll do whatever I can to make you trust me again." Siesta tells her

"Siesta..." Ara actually hugs her "I want you to be yourself. You became my best friend by being who you are and I don't want you to change. You also never lied to me so there is no reason to gain back my trust. I should be the one trying to gain your trust by not telling you how I felt."

Siesta is very touched by this. She knew Ara was amazing but even she didn't think this would go that good **(A/N: That is what happens when you are the author's favorite character Siesta!)**. It was still awkward to her a little that she told Ara she found her attractive and wouldn't mind sharing Saito with her but Ara's honesty and acceptance quickly got rid of that and they were back to laughing like it never happened.

* * *

Saito had just finished his conversation with Agnes and was headed towards the kitchen area. It had been a while since he had seen some of the staff there and wanted to go say hello to them. Once he made the turn toward the kitchen he noticed Tiffa standing in one of the corridors. It looked as though she was backing up in either fear or anxiety. He wasn't going to let someone bully Tiffa like that.

He runs over and gets between Tiffa and whoever is talking down to her. He could hear on his way to help some girls saying how she should show the proper respect to royalty. Saito hated these kind of people the most. Those who thought their position made them better then others. He sees four girls standing there. He can see the arrogance practically coming off of them.

"And who are you commoner? I am Princess Beatrice Yvonne von Guldenhorf, show the proper respect to me!" Beatrice says to Saito.

"You must not have been here yesterday. I am Saito Hiraga, Blade Master of Tristania, and if you continue speaking to me or Tiffa like that, I will show you we do not tolerate that kind of attitude in this country anymore." Saito says as he glares at this stuck up bitch.

Princess Beatrice Yvonne von Guldenhorf was outraged. How dare some commoner talk to her like that. She heard the stories of this Blade Master but she was a princess and deserved the respect that came with that. Right as she was about to go off on him someone interrupts her.

"Princess Beatrice, is it not fi-" Guiche is interrupted by Saito.

"I know what you are trying to do Guiche. I'm sure you think that will solve this but it will not. As long as this spoiled brat keeps that attitude she we never learn or be of any help to anyone. If she wants to be a high and mighty princess she can go back to where she came from because in this country only one princess deserves anyone's respect and that is Princess Henrietta. Now, you will leave Tiffa alone or you will have to deal with me." Saito tells her.

The whole time he stared right at her. She averted her gaze very quickly and just looked around like a scared little mouse. Thinking he made his point, he grabbed Tiffa by the hand and headed toward the kitchen. After being almost half way to the kitchen, Saito realized he was still holding her hand and quickly let go and apologized.

"I'm sorry Tiffa, I didn't mean to grab you like that and hold on to you. I am usually pretty calm but people who act like that tend to set me off for some reason. I apologize for acting like that." Saito says to Tiffa.

"It is ok Saito. I know you were just helping me. I wish I could be brave like you then you wouldn't have to worry about me so much." she tells him.

"It's alright Tiffa, I told you I would protect you and that is exactly what I will do. If you ever need anything just come find me." he tells her

He takes Tiffa with him to see the kitchen staff. He wants to introduce them to her so she knows them. They are all good people and if it wasn't for them, he would have died a few months ago. Once he introduces Tiffa to the staff he walks her back to class and heads toward his room to see if Siesta wants to have lunch.

* * *

Cattleya was very excited to be out of the house. She had convinced her father to send her to get Louise. She had been bedridden for almost a week but after 5 days of no effects he finally relented and let her go.

She missed being able to do things like this but being sick with something no healer could cure didn't let her go very far from the family estate. Which was why she was going to make this trip last as long as she could.

She didn't want to go back to the estate and be locked up like a princess in a tower from the stories. She loved nature and animals and being stuck in the house was going to drive her crazy before some illness could kill her.

When she got the through gates of the academy she was kind of shocked. She had heard of the royal decree opening training to anyone that wanted to learn to protect themselves but she never expected this many people would participate.

There were tents everywhere just outside the walls near the forest. Inside the walls there were thousands of people training. She couldn't wait to get to Louise then walk around and see what was going on around here. It seemed so full of life.

When she exited the carriage a few people looked in her direction but most continued their training. She started to make her way to Louise's room when she ran into someone she always wanted to meet and had heard a lot about from Louise.

"You must be Saito. It is nice to finally meet you. My name is Cattleya. I am Louise's older sister." she introduces herself.

Saito was a little dumbstruck for a moment. If he didn't know any better, it looked like Louise just grew up a few years and got a body that most women would kill for. When he took in her appearance, his ability from the water spirit alerted him that she was ill. He could sense the water in her body flowing through but being blocked in some places causing her body to start to fail her. He needed to find out if she knew this and she was also very polite. His experience with Louise's family has not been good up to this point.

"Hello Cattleya, it is very nice to meet you. I am indeed Saito. I know this might not be appropriate since we just met but are you by any chance feeling ill?" he asks her

She is a little confused how he could figure out she was ill with just a look at her. Not many people outside her family knew about her condition. Her father felt it made their family look weak. He was always worried about such things, things that Cattleya had no interest in. She just wanted to enjoy life as much as possible.

"I am surprised you knew that. Did Louise tell you? Not many people know I am ill." she says to him.

"Ahh... sorry about that but no Louise didn't tell me. I can sense the water in your body being blocked and causing your body to fail. I'm not sure if it will help you but do you mind if I try something? I was recently trained by the water spirit and one of the spells she taught me might be able to help you." Saito asks Cattleya

"We have asked every healer, doctor, and alchemist we could think of for a cure and none have worked so far. I don't mind you trying but don't get disheartened if it doesn't work." Cattleya tells him.

"Ok Cattleya, I'm going to have to put my hands on your head and stomach. Is that alright with you?" she nods yes and he places his hands on her. He concentrates on the water in her body and casts the restoration spell the water spirit taught him.

 ***PANACEA***

Cattleya feels a quick jolt of pain and loses her balance when Saito casts his spell. As she is falling forward, Saito catches her so she doesn't injure herself falling. As he is looking her over to make sure he didn't hurt her further, he notices the water in her body is starting to flow like normal. He might need to cast that spell one or two more times after she rested but he was pretty confident he could cure her.

After the initial jolt of pain, Cattleya started to feel better almost immediately. She very quickly noticed her energy returning, like she could run forever and never stop. When she realized she was in Saito's arms, she honestly felt like a princess who just got rescued from her tower.

She could see what Louise used to write in her letters very quickly in Saito. She tried to get Louise to treat Saito better and stop calling him a dog but she wanted to impress their father so much so just followed those stupid "rules of steel". Cattleya found the idea of those ridiculous but because of her illness never had to worry about her father being as hard on her as he was on Louise.

"I feel better already. Thank you, you are my hero." Cattleya says to him.

Saito realizes he is still holding on to her and tries to collect himself. If someone were just watch it would probably seem like he was checking her out from head to toe instead of what he was doing which was checking the flow of water in her body. He was guessing no one would blame him for that. Cattleya was very beautiful but it was still impolite to stare.

"You are welcome Cattleya, I think I might need to cast that spell one or two more times on you before you are completely healed but it should cure you."

Cattleya is very excited at the possibility of being free of this illness. Her family had spent an enormous amount of money trying to cure her. She thought it was kind of ironic that Saito, someone her father despised, was the one who cured her. Maybe this will show him there is another way to do things.

Cattleya was afraid for her father. He was acting very different lately. He was always angry, always stressed and seemed like he was starting to look at things from a warped persepctive. Someone needed to bring him back or he would be lost.

"Can you just do it now? I would love to be rid of this!" she says excitedly

"Sadly no, your body must rest and get used to the flow again. I will be able to cast it again on you tomorrow. After I cast it I will know if you will require me to cast it a third time." he tells her

Cattleya is so excited she just instinctively hugs Saito to thank him. Once she lets go she asks when and where to meet him tomorrow. When he hears she will be staying in the guest quarters on the level below him, he suggests after lunch tomorrow in her room so it isn't in such a public place like it was today. She agrees, gives him another hug, and runs off towards Louise's room.

After Cattleya releases the hug Saito thinks to himself _'why couldn't Louise be like her sister. She is nice, appreciative, and kind. Not to mention she is Siesta and Ara level of beautiful.'_

Saito turns to leave only to see Tabitha standing right behind him. She is staring right at him and has a hopeful look in her eye. Saito doesn't ever remember her showing any emotion let alone one so powerful he could tell from the look in her eyes.

"Saito, will that spell work on poison?" Tabitha asks him

"I'm not sure Tabitha, I believe it will. What Cattleya had was a degenerative disease. Something like that is usually uncureable even by the healing methods of my home but it will cure her I'm certain. I don't see why it wouldn't work on poison." he tells her

"In Tarbes you said you would help us for helping you if we ever needed it. So, will you help me Saito? I know you are busy with everything going on but I'm not sure how much longer I can wait." she asks

"If you need help Tabitha you know I will do whatever I can to help you." he tells her

"This is not something I want to talk about in the hallway. Can we go somewhere and talk?" Tabitha asks him

"Sure Tabitha, my room isn't far from here or we could go to yours. That should be private enough I think." he says

They make their way to Saito's room. When they enter they see Siesta and Ara sitting in the room, having what looks like a very friendly chat. He asks Tabitha if it is ok for them to be here and she nods.

She sits down near all three of them and explains her situation. How her mother drank poison intended for her. How her cousin and uncle send her on suicide missions all the time trying to get her killed and finally about how her real name is Charolette and she is the princess of Gallia.

Siesta and Ara are taken a back by how her family treats her. Even Ara, who is used to being treated like crap from her family can't believe how horrible Tabitha has it.

Saito listens to Tabitha and gets angrier the longer he listens to her. He doesn't show it on his face but he can't believe what she has been through. He wishes she would have said something sooner. He would have figured out a way to help her even if he didn't have this spell from the water spirit.

"Tabitha, I.." he looks to Ara and Siesta and they both nod their heads "no we, are going to do whatever we can to help you. Take me to your mother and we will get her out of harms way, I promise you." he says to her.

Tabitha is close to crying. She hasn't felt anything but empty since her mother drank that poison. Now she felt hopeful and grateful that Saito would try and help her like this. She wants to leave right now but knows Saito has his duties.

"We can leave whenever you get time Saito. I know how busy you are and you have been doing nothing but traveling for almost 4 months now." Tabitha says

"Nonsense Tabitha, I'm sure Saito will help you now. You and your mother have suffered for long enough." Siesta says to her

"Siesta is right Tabitha, I also have a plan to make Henrietta fine with me being gone for a few days. Why don't you come have lunch with us and afterwords we will talk with Henrietta about a short trip to Gallia." Saito tells her

After all four of them share a lunch, they head to the princess' room. Saito assures them he has a way for her to be okay with this and they just put their faith in him. He has never let any of them down before and there was no reason to think he would now.

"Good afternoon Henrietta, Tiffa, Mathilda. It is nice to see all of you again." Saito says

"Good afternoon Saito." Tiffa, Henrietta, and Mathilda say

"I'm glad you took to calling me Henrietta quickly Saito." the princess giggles "What brings you four here today? Is your training with Agnes done for the day?" she asks him

"Well you did insist I call you that but I don't mind. It suits you better then princess or your majesty. My training is done with Agnes for today but that is not why I am here. I wish to take a short trip to Gallia to help Tabitha." Saito tells her.

"Ah so Princess Charlotte needs help." Henrietta says

Everyone is shocked. Tabitha, Siesta, Ara, and Saito can't believe Henrietta knows Tabitha's real identity. Tiffa and Mathilda can't believe Tabitha is a Gallian princess.

"I am the princess of Tristania. Not much goes on in this country that I do not know about." Henrietta says with a smile. "Saito you know I need you here though. We have no idea when Reconquista could finish off the resistance and set its sights on us. We need to be ready and you have been traveling nonstop for months now. Shouldn't you relax, train everyone up, and train a little yourself?" Henrietta says

"It is true I have been traveling a lot but I owe Tabitha. Not only that she is a friend. Like yourself Henrietta, she was one of the only people who treated me like a person when I came her. Tarbes owes her a debt for her help and I intend to repay that. I also was hoping you could accompany us. Not to Tabitha's home because that would start an international incident but to Lagdorian Lake. You said you were bored just planning and the water spirit told me she has been waiting your whole life to train you. Why not stop by the lake, take Agnes and some musketeers, and learn from the water spirit. It certainly did all of us some good." Saito tells her

"So now you are trying to bribe me by using my unending boredom as the bargaining chip." she laughs "I think that sounds like a good idea. I could use a good trip to get my energy back. You will accompany us to the lake right Saito?" Henrietta says.

Siesta is certain Henrietta has feelings for Saito by the way she is talking to him and looking at him. She guesses she is going to have to get used to this. He seems to have this effect on every woman he meets.

"Of course Henrietta, from what Tabithat told us, her home is only a day from Lagdorian Lake. If you are not done training with the water spirit, we can camp at the lake until you are done. I think it would do Agnes some good to get away too." he tells her

"Very well Saito, you have successfully bribed me hehe. Is it alright if we leave tomorrow? I must visit some people before I leave to make sure the right things are getting done in my absence." Henrietta asks

"Yes that is fine Henrietta, I know you are always busy with matters about that country and I thank you for working so hard for everyone in Tristania." Saito says

"It is my pleasure Saito, they are certainly worthy of a ruler of treats them like they matter." Henrietta says.

After their conversation, Henrietta excuses herself to go take care of her business. She has an extra spring in her step knowing she was going on a journey, even if it was just for a few days. She wondered if this was the reason Saito adventured so much. She was going to ask Tiffa and Mathilda to join them too. She really enjoyed spending time with those 2. It was nice to have real friends especially for a princess.

With the prospect of another journey and helping someone who needed it, everyone set off to get ready for their journey.

* * *

and there is chapter 11... hope you liked it... I think I rewrote this chapter about 10 times... I'm still not satisfied with the part of the chapter that had Siesta and Ara's conversation but it will do for now I suppose... until next time... oh which by the way I am hoping will be every Friday


	12. Help and Bribery

Disclaimer: I do not own anything

 **A/N** : Sorry for the delay on the chapter but I'm honestly having trouble making these chapters long... since I've only seen the anime and never read the LNs extending scenes is proving difficult for me... hope you like this chapter...

 **Knorles** : I didn't want to force the relationship with Ara and Siesta... I kind of did that with Siesta and Saito already a little bit... glad you like the intro of Cattleya and the rest of the chapter... I had another author suggest Grammarly and it's helpful for the grammatical errors

 **Wargame-sama** : Saito does not know about the Zero Fighter... he may not ever find it... you never know ;-)

 **Mirosmar** : sorry I only speak English... I know it has something to do with harem and Eleanore and Cattleya

 **Me Myself and I** : Saito has been a little aggressive lately and that will come up in this chapter... he did apologize to Tiffa for acting like that and admitted he is normally not like that... also the reason Saito didn't say Tiffa is Albion Royalty is because the whole royal family is dead right now because of Reconquista... if they found out there was another member of the royal family alive they would surely try to kill them... so, for now, she is just Tiffa, for now :-)

 **OechsnerC/Tyrant** : glad you guys are still reading... don't worry Tyrant when I get to the lemon parts I'm going to post another story of nothing but those so people who don't want to read them don't have to...

Now let's get to the next chapter!

* * *

Henrietta was excited to head to the water spirit. She was hoping Saito would stay here and train with her but she thought this would definitely be worth it. Plus, when Saito returned from Gallia she could make him stay at the lake for at least a couple days and train with her.

Only a few people knew this but she was going to lead the army against Reconquista. She had no desire to stand in the back or wait in Tristania for news on the war. She wanted to be worthy to rule this country and thought this was the best way to show her commitment.

If she could train and get in sync with Saito, she believed they could conquer whatever came before them. The fact that he was going to train so many people would only make them much stronger. She didn't know if she could learn KI but knew anyone who did would be much more then an average soldier.

She knew this conversation with Agnes was not going to be pleasant. Momma bear would not be happy with her about going to the lake with Reconquista aiming for Tristania next. She delighted in calling Agnes names like that. Ever since Saito said she acted like her mother, it finally gave Henrietta something to tease Agnes about that actually worked. As she got near Agnes she could see she was actually smiling. Well, what could be considered a smile for Agnes.

"Hello Momma Bear..." Henrietta says with a smile

"Do you really have to call me that your majesty? You know I am the same age as you." Agnes replies.

"As long as you act the part I see no problem with it." Henrietta giggles "I just wanted to let you know we are going to be taking a trip for a few days. We are going to Lagdorian Lake. Saito told me the water spirit has wanted to train me for years and I thought this was the perfect opportunity. I need to be ready when war comes to us."

"Your Highness, that is a very bad idea. I know training with the water spirit is not something many get to do but with Reconquista after you we cannot take the risk." Agnes says to her

"I knew you would say that but this isn't me asking for permission. We are going. To ease your mind, you may bring Aimee, Julia and any other 4 musketeers you like as guards." Henrietta tells her

Agnes still doesn't like this at all. If it were up to her, she would bring every musketeer and member of the military that was here to keep the princess safe. She would have to make due and bring her best 6 musketeers.

"Very well your highness. I will gather the musketeers and be ready to leave tomorrow." Agnes says

"Very good Agnes. I see you still can't call me Henrietta when it is just us Mother Hen." she smirks

Agnes just sighs and leaves to find the musketeers she wants to take with them. She needed them to understand how important this duty was and planned to lecture every one of them until they understood.

* * *

After being healed by Saito, Cattleya makes her way to Louise's room feeling better than she ever had. She was quite literally skipping to her room. When she finally got to her room she knocked and called out to Louise.

"Oh Louiseeeeee~, your big sister is here to see you!"

Louise is sitting in her room feeling better then she had in weeks. While she was having dinner with the princess, Tiffania, and Mathilda, she finally felt like she had friends around her instead of people who just felt sorry for her. As she was petting Anima, she heard her favorite sister call out to her, sounding more joyful than she had heard in a long time.

Louise ran to the door and quickly opened it. She saw Cattleya standing there with a joyful smile the likes of which she hadn't seen in years. She wondered what got into her sister but just wanted to enjoy it for now.

"Cattleya! I missed you so much!" Louise says to her. She lunges forward and embraces her sister as tight as she can. She wondered if this week could get any better.

"Hello dear Louise, how have you been lately? I wanted to come sooner but father wouldn't let me leave the estate." Cattleya tells her

"It was a little rough after coming back from Albion but I have had some good days recently and it is looking up. Did you have another episode Cattleya? You certainly seem like you are doing great." Louise says

"Yes I did, but after 5 days of nothing, father finally let me leave. It is good news, bad news, and great news! I guess I will get to the bad news first to get it out of the way." Cattleya says to her

Louise hopes it doesn't have to do with Cattleya's health. She had no idea what she would do if her sister left her. She doesn't think she could get by without her.

"Father sent me because he wants you to come back home. I have no idea why, he didn't say, but I am here to bring you back with me."

Louise lets out a loud sigh. She knew something bad would happen since everything had started to look up. Nothing ever went her way.

"Now for the good news. We are going to spend at least today here before returning. I haven't been out of the house in so long and I want at least to spend one day out having fun!"

"I can see you are feeling better then I have seen you in a long time Cattleya. I won't mind if you just stay here forever." Louise says with a smile. She really doesn't want to go back to her families estate.

"Well, that leads into the great news perfectly! I am cured! Well not completely yet, at least that is what Saito told me." Cattleya finishes

"W-W-What do you mean Saito said you were cured?! How could he even know you were sick?!" she asks her

"Saito could sense I was sick just by looking at me somehow. He used a spell on me, he said he learned from the water spirit, to restore the water in my body to the correct paths. He told me he would need to cast it at least one more time, maybe twice, to truly cure me but he won't know for sure until I meet him after lunch tomorrow." Cattleya tells Louise

Louise has no idea what to say right now. How could Saito know a spell more powerful then any healer or alchemist potion her family had tried up until now. And why would he help her family? Her father despised him, tried to kill him, and she had thought of doing horrible things she now regretted to him.

Louise finally understood something about Saito. He just wanted to help people. He didn't care who you were or where you came from. He just wanted to help whoever he could.

"That is terrific news Cattleya! I bet mother and father will be very relieved to hear you are finally cured!" Louise finally says

"I know Louise but I want to spend some time away from there for now. I feel fantastic and just want to run everywhere!" she tells her

"Where would you like to go sister? I'll go anywhere you want to." Louise says to her

"Let's just walk around for now. I'm sure we can find something to do and I want to see as much as I can." Cattleya says to Louise

Just as they are about to round the corner, Saito turns the corner and is standing right in front of them. They are both a little surprised he is there.

"Oh, sorry Louise, Cattleya, I didn't mean to interrupt you two. I was just hoping to speak with Cattleya for a moment." Saito says to them

"It is ok Saito. We were just about to go for a walk. Do you mind if we walk and talk? I feel great and want to enjoy this." Cattleya says

"That is fine with me Cattleya. Hello Anima." Saito says as they turn the corner and he sees the chimera. "It is nice to see you again." he pets the chimera. Cattleya is shocked Anima is so friendly with Saito. She knew how protective he was of Louise.

"I just wanted to let you know that I would be leaving tomorrow so I will not be able to meet you after lunch. I have to take a trip and I will be gone for a few days. I was hoping you would be ok meeting me either before or after breakfast. The treatment will still be effective as long as you rest the night before." Saito finishes

"It will be hard to rest tonight. I haven't felt like this in many years but if it means I can be permanently rid of this, I will do everything I can to rest tonight."

"I will make sure she rests Saito, even if I have to knock her out myself." Louise tells him

This gets a chuckle from Saito. He had never seen Louise care so much about someone before. Maybe she wasn't nearly as bad as his first experience with her was.

"I appreciate that Louise and if my second cast of the spell isn't enough to cure you, a few days between casts will not make a difference but I will need to cast it on you before 2 weeks have past or you will regress back to being sick and we will have to start over. Also, I know you feel great but don't overdo it. If you put too much strain on your body while it is trying to repair itself, I will certainly have to cast it a third time and maybe a fourth." he tells her

"I will try to hold myself back Saito but it will be fine if I am just walking around right?" Cattleya asks

"Yes, that is fine. Just don't run a lot or play any sports for now. Give it a few days and you will be able to do all of that as much as you like. I need to go meet Ara and Siesta to get our things together to travel. I will see you tomorrow Cattleya. Louise, it was nice to see you again. You too Anima." Saito says and leaves the sisters to enjoy the day together.

"See you tomorrow Saito! and Thank You So Much for everything you are doing!" Cattleya says and Louise waves

The sister's head off to enjoy a day together. They haven't had a day like this in what seems like forever. Louise really did see everything getting better. She was still dreading seeing her father but would enjoy her time with her sister until then.

* * *

Tabitha headed back to her room with a sense of hope she hadn't had in quite some time. She knew if Saito could cure Cattleya of a supposedly incurable disease then he should be able to clear her mother's body of poison. She did not want to get her hopes up but Saito had made her hope again.

She couldn't remember the last time she felt like this. To truly believe things were going to change for her. If Saito could do this for her, she would be indebted to him forever and would assist him with anything he ever needed. With her renewed attitude she approached the door to her room only to see Kirche standing there waiting for her.

"Hello Tabitha, I saw you were talking with Saito. What did you guys talk about?" Kirche asks her

"I asked him to help with my mother Kirche." Tabitha replies

"So you finally got the courage to ask huh. I never thought you would be so timid about asking anyone anything." Kirche says

"I knew how busy he is and wanted to make sure he had the time to help me but I saw him use a spell and cure an incurable disease and I had to ask him right after I saw it happen." Tabitha tells Kirche

"I saw him cast that square level healing spell on Julio. I didn't realize he could cast any spells let alone more than one. I wonder where he learned those spells." she asks

"He told me he learned them from the water spirit of Lagdorian Lake." Tabitha tells her

"Oh, darling learned from the water spirit did he? He is just full of surprises isn't he?" Kirche says with a dreamy look in her eyes. "So when is he going to help you? I can't imagine it would be very soon, like you said, he is really busy around here."

"We are leaving tomorrow morning after he gives Cattleya another treatment for her illness." Tabitha tells her

"Ohhhh really? You know I'm coming with you, right? You are my friend and I'll help you with whatever I can." she tells Tabitha

"You know you just want to be near Saito Kirche." Tabitha smirks at her

Kirche can't remember Tabitha ever having that kind of look on her face. It seems Saito has started to break down Tabitha's emotional barriers a bit. It is a good look on Tabitha she thinks. To see her friend teasing her and having fun was something very new and refreshing.

"Oh, I see he has had quite the impact on you as well Tabitha. I don't think I've ever seen you so playful and happy. To imagine you would tease me of all people, is it really that obvious?" Kirche asks

"Very" is all Tabitha says to her

"Thank you Kirche. You are a good friend." Tabitha says to her

"You deserve it Tabitha." Kirche tells her

After they both have a quick laugh, Kirche goes to her room to pack for the trip. She is going to help her friend even if it gets her killed. When Kirche went to Tabitha's home for vacation and learned about her and her mother it broke her heart she couldn't do anything to help her. Now Saito was going to and Kirche was going to make sure he made it there to heal her mother.

* * *

The next morning came and everyone headed to grab breakfast before they left for the lake. Saito needed to meet Cattleya after breakfast and give her another treatment. This would tell him if she needs any more of them or if this would be the last one. He knew she would be excited to finally be rid of her disease, he just hoped she wouldn't be disappointed if this wasn't the last treatment. He arrived at her door with Siesta and Ara and knocked.

*KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK*

Cattleya answers the door and sees the three of them standing there.

"Good morning Saito." she looks at Siesta "You must be Siesta. It is very nice to meet you, and if I remember correctly from a couple years ago, you are Ara Von Dunkler Engel right?"

"It is very nice to meet you too Cattleya." Siesta says

"Yes, I am Ara, Cattleya. You seem much different than the rest of your family." she says to her

"We are all different, aren't we? I know you don't have the greatest memories of my family but that is mainly because of my father. He's big on his "rules of steel" so he didn't take kindly to your prank. I thought it was rather funny myself, but I'm pretty sure my father has no sense of humor whatsoever." Cattleya tells Ara

"Good morning Cattleya. I hate to show up and leave but we need to meet the princess so we can get on the road. Do you mind if we come in so I can give you your treatment?" Saito asks her

"Sure no problem Saito. Everyone, please come in." she tells them

They all enter the room and notice it looks identical to their rooms upstairs, it is just slightly smaller. When they all get in and shut the door, Cattleya asks Saito...

"So should we just do it right here in the living room? I would like to get this over with as soon as possible. Not that I don't enjoy your company Saito but you have given me the energy I haven't felt in years and want to experience everything I can as soon as I can."

"It would probably be good if you laid down or at least sat down. You almost collapsed last time and I don't want you standing if that happens again." Saito tells her

She goes over to the couch and lays down flat so Saito can cast his spell. She hoped this was the last treatment and she could go run around all day. If Saito had to cast it one or two more times, she also wouldn't mind. It would give her a reason to leave the estate and she was sure her parents wouldn't object to her leaving again if it meant curing her of her disease.

"Ok, just like last time I need to put my hands on your forehead and stomach. Are you ready?" Saito says

"Ready as I'll ever be Saito." she replies

 ***PANACEA***

He casts his restoration spell on her once again. He checks out her body to see if there are any areas still blocking her bodies healing process. He notices there is still a few scattered throughout her body and realizes he will need to cast it one more time to fully cure her. He needed to make sure he could make it to her within two weeks or they would need to start over again.

"I'm sorry Cattleya. The treatment did work again but I will need to cast this one more time to fully cure you. Unfortunately, I need to leave for a trip but I should be back in just a few days. As long as I give you the treatment within two weeks from today, we will be alright and you will be cured." Saito tells her

"I was hoping to be cured today but that is fine Saito. You could always come to our estate when you are finished to give me the last treatment." Cattleya says to Saito

"Not trying to sound rude but I will have to decline that invitation. Your father has already tried to kill me twice so I'm not comfortable coming to your house, to be honest. Do you think you could come back to the academy in about a week? We should be back by then or we could meet somewhere in the middle if you can't make the trip all the way back here." Saito tells her

"Well, I'm actually here to bring Louise home with me so I think I can just convince my father and mother to let me bring her back here. Especially if it is to cure my disease. I know you don't have a great history with my father but not everyone in my family is like that Saito." Cattleya says

"Well, you are definitely much different than your sister and father that is for sure." Saito tells her

"Louise is just confused that is all Saito. I assure you, she is a good person. She just doesn't know what to do right now. She has been trying to impress our parents since I can remember and now that she is starting to think for herself instead of just blindly following my father's wishes, I believe she will turn into quite the woman in the next couple years. Thanks to you, I'll be around to see that." she finishes with a beaming smile at Saito.

The look in her eyes was not lost on Siesta or Ara. Saito was, of course, completely clueless like usual. He assumed she was just happy to finally be feeling good after all these years. Ara and Siesta knew better. It wasn't the first time they saw that look in a woman's eye when looking at Saito. The princess had the same look in her eye at breakfast. Only Siesta noticed this but it wasn't a surprise.

Saito told her everything that happened on his journey when he left the first time and that included the almost kiss with Henrietta. Siesta wasn't mad or surprised, she expected that to happen. Henrietta was much different then any royal she had ever met and she knew she didn't care about Saito's background, status, or anything of that nature. She was just a girl in love like the rest of them were.

Once they hashed out a plan to meet up again the three of them left Cattleya to meet up with the rest of the party. Siesta was curious what Saito thought of Cattleya and wanted to ask him but Ara beat her to it.

"So Saito, you seemed to get along with Cattleya pretty well." Ara says to him

"Yeah, when I first met her I thought Louise suddenly aged 5 years and was a little weirded out by it. Once I actually talked to her, I realized she was nothing like anyone in her family. She seems to genuinely care about other people and was trying to guide Louise in the right direction." he replies

"You sure it wasn't because of how hot she is Saito." Siesta says to him to tease him a little

"W-W-What do you m-m-mean Siesta?!" Saito says almost at a yell while being incredibly flustered.

"I was just teasing you Saito. Although, she is very pretty, but I'm sure you didn't notice that. Just like Henrietta or Kirche or Tiffania or... should I go on?" she smirks at the end. Teasing Saito like this was getting rather fun.

"It's not like their looks matter to me Siesta. If you think they are beautiful there is nothing I can do about that. I am just trying to help as many people as I can." he tells her

"I know that Saito. I wasn't trying to imply anything just that you seem to attract only beautiful women to you." she replies to him

Saito had no idea how to respond to that. It was true that just about every woman he was around was unusually attractive but it wasn't like he was doing it on purpose. Siesta was starting to comment on things like this on a more regular basis and he hoped she didn't think he was trying to go after any of these women. After that thought, he said the only thing that came to mind.

"It doesn't matter what they look like Siesta, none of them are you."

Siesta let out a sigh and Ara looked kind of disappointed. He wasn't quite sure why either of them reacted the way they did but both of them had been acting different recently and he wasn't sure why. One of these days soon he was going to have to sit down with them and actually ask instead of being lost like a little puppy. After their last exchange, they made their way to the front gate to get Dante and head out with the rest of the party.

Saito and everyone else will keep going once they arrive and head toward Tabitha's home. They had quite a large party at the moment. It was Saito, Ara, Siesta, Tabitha, Kirche, Sylphid, Henrietta, Agnes, and six musketeers.

They were pretty sure they shouldn't have to worry about things like bandits ambushing them with a party of 14, one of them being a dragon. Nothing short of an army was going to stop this group of people.

As they made their way to the lake, they encountered exactly what they expected, nothing at all. It was smooth sailing all the way to the lake. Once they arrived at the lake, Henrietta wanted to talk to Saito before he left. She wanted to make sure he knew he owed her for letting him go and she planned to collect on that debt the moment he got back to the lake.

"Saito, can I talk to you before you leave?" Henrietta asks him

"Sure Henrietta. I'll just be a moment everyone then we can head out." he tells the group

Once they walk away from everyone, Henrietta says what is on her mind.

"You know you owe me for this one Saito. Just because I was bored out of my mind and you used that against me so you could leave us again doesn't mean that is the end of this. When you get back to the lake, I want you to train with me and the water spirit. We will need to be in complete sync when we head to war and I haven't had any time to train with you at all. My knight has been protecting everyone except me." she finishes with an adorable pouty face.

Every time Saito saw her anime style puppy dog eyes and her pouty lips he thought she looked beyond beautiful. It was a power only few could claim to have and if it wasn't for Siesta he would have lost to that power long ago.

"I know Henrietta and I thank you. I have no problem training with you when I return, and I am sorry if it seems like I haven't been keeping up my end of the bargain as your knight." he tells her

"It's nothing like that Saito. I was just hoping to spend more time with you than I have been able to. Siesta also, I would like to get to know her as well since she will be your wife someday soon." she tells him

"I'm sure Siesta would like that Henrietta. She has always admired how you carried yourself as royalty and cared for the people. I'm sure you two will get along great. You should get to know Ara too. She is a wonderful person and I'm sure you would get along with her as well. It wouldn't hurt to befriend someone from the Germanian nobility either." he tells Henrietta.

After their quick exchange, Henrietta gave Saito a hug much to his surprise. He wasn't quite sure what to do with everyone watching right now. Not only did he think Agnes might chop his arms off for touching the princess like that. Siesta was standing only about 20 feet away. He wrapped his arms around her quickly then released it after just a brief moment. He didn't want to not hug Henrietta but had to make it as fast as possible so Siesta didn't get the wrong idea.

"Thanks Saito, please come back to us unharmed. We will be eagerly awaiting your arrival." Henrietta says to him.

"Thank you Henrietta. I will be careful and return as quickly as I can." he tells the princess

Saito turns towards the group waiting for him to depart. He didn't see the wink Siesta gave Henrietta before he turned around. This was turning into a much harder mission then Siesta ever thought it would be. She knew Saito was raised differently and treated women completely different than any other man in this world but she didn't realize getting him to open up would be this difficult. She might just have to sit down and talk with him instead of the subtle approach she had been trying. She was pretty sure it wouldn't be subtle at all if it was anyone but Saito.

"Ready to go love?" Siesta says to him

"Yes I am beautiful. Let's go save Tabitha's mother!" Saito says

* * *

and there is chapter 12... like I said in the A/Ns up top... it is getting harder for me to figure out the chapters... only having the anime to go off of doesn't give me much to play with... I might have to start making things up to keep this going other than the obvious moments like the battles in Albion, Joseph, etc... I wanted to make this chapter longer but figured it would be better to at least give you guys something... I should have this updated again sooner then it took me this time... well until next time!


	13. Paying Back Debts

Disclaimer: I do not own anything

"Talking"

 _'Thinking'_

 ***ABILITY/SPELL/SKILL***

 **A/N:** Hello again everyone! I know it's been a while but now I'm confident I can continue this fanfic with regular updates (once a month is my guess)... I am going to be deviating entirely from the anime for the most part... I do intend to include some of the anime moments in the future but this fanfic will no longer play out like you normally would see... it will still be the same characters and everything that has happened up to this point will still be in effect... hope you enjoy the new way this is going... first couple chapters I need to finish up Tabitha's mother and the war in Albion before I can start the next arc of this story... review reply time... it's been a while so I hope I don't miss anyone

 **Knorles:** As you can tell from the A/N I'm going in the different direction once I wrap up the corner I painted myself into... hope you like it

 **OechsnerC:** I plan on country hopping in the future so we will meet a lot of the people you were talking about... I'm kind of excited to write the Saito should have a harem conversation lol

 **Dozer:** Thanks for the tips... I have been working on my story formatting with my Overlord fanfic and people seem to like it... hopefully, it will help with this fanfic also

 **Tyrant Overlord Killidia:** The harem has gotten rather big but remember I said just because everyone loves Saito doesn't mean they will be included... I originally was going to make it 3 or 4 but I might end up going to around 6... still not sure to be honest... it will be at least 3

 **nxkris:** What you suggested is essentially exactly what I want to do... the random encounters traveling are decreased already because of the number of times Saito has taken those routes... once we start getting to areas he has never been or only been a few times the random encounters will go up tremendously... kind of leaning towards Ara as a love interest a little sooner then I see you are suggesting but what I have in mind is exactly what I was planning from the start... might change it, might not... time will tell I suppose

 **JordanR:** I'm back!

 **Wargame-sama:** If you are reading this I at least figured out the part on Tabitha's mother and if I posted this, I have more then likely already thought of how to do the war in Albion so enjoy the new chapters!

 **Im The Person/last admiral:** Yes this is a harem fanfic... hasn't turned into one yet but it will eventually

Ok enough of those... let's get to the next chapter!

* * *

Saito, Siesta, Ara, Kirche, Tabitha, and Slyphid are on the road headed towards Tabitha's family manor. The manor is not far from where Lagdorian Lake is located. Saito thought this might be a good idea of exactly what he got himself into. If her mother was being poisoned by the King, she had to have some guards or something. Now was as good a time as any to ask what he needed to know before they arrived.

"Tabitha, are there any guards near your mother? Magical barriers? Anything at all we should know before we arrive?" Saito asks her

"No guards, no barriers, just servants for my mother. Not many anymore, can't afford." Tabitha responds. She still didn't say much but it was more than usual so a step in the right direction he supposed.

"Where should we take her after we rescue her? I can't really just keep dumping people in Tarbes. Especially someone like your mother who is royalty, Tabitha." Saito says

"Don't know. Just want her cured." Tabitha responds

"Saito, I could take her to our tower." Ara says

She blushes a little realizing she called it our tower. Siesta giggles a bit catching what she said and Saito is lost like always.

"I kind of promised the princess I would train with her since I have been doing everything except my actual job protecting her. I don't think I'll be able to get another two days out of this trip." Saito replies

"Well, we would only need to go a couple hours back past the lake and I can use Joy of Guidance to get back to the tower. I can only take five people and I'd need at least one or two people to guard the plank I would need to leave to come back but we should be fine on our own for a couple hours without you Saito." Ara says to him

"I don't want to leave you alone in the wilderness for a couple hours without me." Saito replies to her

"What's the matter, Darling? You don't think us women can handle ourselves without you there to save us?" Kirche says trying her best to act hurt at the implication

"No, I know you can protect yourselves. Actually Ara, you said there were places in the tower we hadn't discovered yet. Any chance one of them was a vault, treasury, or something like that?" Saito says

"Actually, yes Saito. There is a vault in the base of the tower. Why do you ask?" Ara asks him

"I have been doing a lot of traveling and monster hunting these past few months. My pouches are getting pretty full and I need somewhere to keep it that is secure. I don't have room in the shed of Tarbes for all of this and was wondering if I could keep it there?" Saito says

"Of course you can Saito, it is your tower as much as it is mine." Ara says to him

"Thanks, Ara." Saito says

"Here." Tabitha says

The first thing Saito noticed was the two long slash marks through Tabitha's family crest. If he remembered correctly, that meant they dishonored their country. He had no idea how someone who had her father assassinated, mother turned insane and was constantly trying to be killed by her cousin and uncle could betray their country.

Saito thought he had it rough getting pulled here against his will and made into the slave of a hateful, tiny, pink-hair mage. He couldn't even imagine what Tabitha has been through the last few years. He wasn't sure he would be strong enough to survive what she did. He probably would have given up already if he were put in that situation.

As they all took in the sight of the manor, they all had pretty much the same thoughts.

 _'This place would certainly be fit for royalty if it was maintained all these years.'_

The gates from the entrance were completely missing. There was ivy growing all over every inch of the walls and they noticed some broken windows here and there spread across the estate. They could all tell it would look amazing if all of these were repaired but it looked pretty sorry in the state it was in at the moment.

Tabitha leads them all down the path and towards the front door. Once they reach the front door, they all begin to dismount. Saito gets off first then helps Siesta off of Dante. He then helps Ara off of Dante also but for some reason, she blushes and acts embarrassed when he puts his hands around her waist to help her down. This is probably the hundredth time he has to help her down like this and she never acted like that. It only led him to think one thing.

 _'I'm never going to understand women.'_

Right as he was letting go of Ara, the front door opened and a man stepped out to greet them. He was an older gentleman, by Saito's estimation, around sixty years old. He had snow white hair, blue eyes, a white mustache, and small round glasses on his face. He gave a bow to Tabitha and quickly introduced himself to the others.

"Greetings Lady Charlotte and honored guests. I am Percerin, the butler of the D'Orleans family. Will you all be staying here my lady?" he asks Tabitha

"Not staying. Came to see mother. Any change?" Tabitha asks

"I'm afraid not Lady Charlotte. Shall I escort your friends to the waiting area?" Percerin asks her

"Yes. Saito, come with me." Tabitha says.

She doesn't give him any chance to say anything to her command. She just grabs his hand and drags him through the door. As he is being dragged through the manor he takes a look around at the place. He can tell the inside is in much better shape than the outside as far as he can tell. It truly is a place fit for a king or queen on the inside. They approach a set of double doors near the end of the hallway and Tabitha stops in front of them.

"My mother is insane right now. Don't take anything she says to me or you personally Saito." Tabitha tells him

"Don't worry Tabitha. I am here to help and I'll do anything I can to help you." Saito says to her

Tabitha gives him a nod and opens the doors to her mother's room. Saito sees an incredibly spacious bedchamber. There are bookcases lining the walls, chairs, sofas, and tables. He notices a figure in the bed and assumes this is Tabitha's mother. She was very pale, sunken eyes, and looked malnourished. Tabitha moved towards the bed where her mother was resting and motioned Saito to follow.

"ARE YOU HERE TO STEAL MY BABY!?" the woman in the bed screams at Tabitha

"No mother. We are here to help." Tabitha says her mother turns to Saito and screams

"ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE MY CHARLOTTE AWAY?! GET AWAY! YOU WON'T TAKE HER FROM ME!"

"I am here to help you..." Saito trails off realizing he has no idea how he should address Tabitha's mother. He looks at her as if pleading for an answer.

"Duchess." Tabitha says

"I am here to help you Duchess." Saito finally finishes

"NO! YOU ARE HERE TO STEAL MY CHARLOTTE FROM ME!" she replies

"Tabitha, is there any way to calm her down? I need to put my hands on her if I am going to help her." Saito asks

"Not until she falls asleep, but she is too weak to resist you. Just go ahead and try to help her." Tabitha says

Saito looks at Tabitha, a look of worry on his face as she tells him to just do it. He really didn't want to put his hands on someone freaking out so much but he knew time was of the essence. He slowly moved his hands towards the Duchess forehead and stomach. She was not a fan of him trying to touch her and continued screaming at him. Saito continued until he had his hands in the right place and realized Tabitha was right. Her mother didn't even have the strength to swat his hands away, let alone resist him trying to help her. He places his hands on her and hopes this will work to help out Tabitha. The last thing he wanted to do was fail her and make her suffer any more than she already had.

 ***PANACEA***

As soon as Saito casts his restoration spell on the Duchess she stops screaming at him and her eyes slowly start to close as if she is falling asleep. Her very pale skin starts to regain some color to it, her sunken eyes start to show signs of life again, and right before she completely passes out, she looks to Tabitha and whispers just one word.

"Charlotte..." the Duchess says and falls asleep

Saito looks over at Tabitha and sees her about to start crying. The sudden acknowledgment by her mother that she was Charlotte almost made her break down on the spot. Saito just puts his arm around her shoulder and gives her some support. He wishes he could let her enjoy this moment a little longer but if her uncle is watching this manor, they need to leave as soon as possible.

"Tabitha, is there a servant you trust enough to take care of your mother for you?" Saito asks her

"Yes, Percerin has been here since before my mother was poisoned. I trust him." Tabitha says to him

"Alright, Let's have Sylphid come around to the back door here with Kirche. You can take off on Sylphid with your mother, Percerin, Kirche, and yourself. Siesta, Ara, and I will follow you on Dante. We should get out of here as soon as we can so we are in another country by the time your uncle finds out. I will send Percerin down here and Sylphid around back. Wait here for a moment Tabitha." Saito says to her

Tabitha just nods her head and goes back to standing by her mother's side. Saito makes his way back down to the waiting room where the butler took everyone to wait. When he walks in the room, all eyes go on him. He can tell everyone is looking at them with hope in their eyes, but he doesn't want to say anything out loud in case someone is listening. It is better to get them moving out of here and talk about it on the road.

"Mr. Percerin, Tabitha needs your assistance in her mother's room." Saito says to the old butler

"Very well Sir Saito. If you will excuse me, everyone." Percerin says to them

"Everyone, come with me." Saito says and starts heading towards the door.

"Saito, what about Tabitha's moth-" Siesta is stopped by Saito raising a hand.

"We can talk about that outside, Siesta." Saito says

They all realize Saito doesn't want to talk about it in the house for some reason and get up to join him outside. Once they finally make it outside, Saito gets to work telling them what they are going to do now.

"Ok first off, I cured Tabitha's mother." This news is met with a lot of hugs and cheering from everyone which Saito quickly stops because they need to get the hell out of there.

"Kirche, take Sylphid and go around to the back of the manor. You are going to pick up Tabitha, the Duchess, and Percerin. Siesta, Ara, and I are going to get Dante and start heading towards the road. We will meet you at the gate." Saito tells them

Everyone starts moving pretty quickly after he tells them all of that. Luckily for everyone, nothing happens getting out of the manor and they are quickly on the road back to Lagdorian Lake.

* * *

 **Vallière Estate...**

Cattleya and Louise rode through the gate to the family estate. When Cattleya looked at Louise, Louise looked like she felt, sad. Cattleya had felt almost reborn the last two days since getting the healing spells from Saito. She had remembered Saito's words and still took it pretty easy considering what she wanted to do but hopefully, in the next couple days, that wouldn't be a problem any longer.

She really wishes she could think of something to say to make her little sister a bit happier but Louise knows that whatever their father wants to talk about probably isn't good. She is never summoned for anything good and never receives any praise from him. Even when she summoned Anima, he praised her but only quietly to her mother. The carriage finally came to a stop at the front of the manor and the door was quickly opened by one of the staff.

"Well, here we go little sister." Cattleya says to Louise

"Yay, I can't wait." Louise spits out

"I know it probably isn't good but look on the bright side. I plan on accompanying you back even if I have to sneak out and walk back to the academy hehe." Cattleya giggles

"I doubt even father would deny you going back if it meant you being cured sister." Louise says

"You haven't seen father lately Louise. He hasn't been himself for a few months now. I'm not sure what father will do anymore." Cattleya tells her

"That doesn't sound good for me." Louise says

"Well let's go see him together. Maybe news of my soon to be cured state will help break him out of this anger he is stuck in." Cattleya says

Louise and Cattleya make their way to their father's study where he was waiting for both of them. They could tell by the grumbling coming from the other side of the door that he was not in a good mood today. Cattleya knocked on the door and waited for the servant to answer. It only took a moment for him to open the door and announce their presence. It didn't take long for the Duke's agitation at having them come back a day later than they were supposed to show itself.

"Why weren't you two back here yesterday?!" he didn't yell but the fury in his voice was evident.

"It is nice to see you too father." Cattleya says to him

"Cattleya needed to stay an extra day father. We left as soon as we could." Louise says to him

"I told you leaving in your condition was a bad idea! You never listen!" the Duke says

"I stayed because I found someone to cure me, father, not because I was sick!" Cattleya almost yells at him

"Y-Y-Your cured?! How is that possible?!" the Duke says his fury obviously subsiding

"No, I'm not cured yet. I need one or two more treatments depending on the strain I put on my body before the next treatment, Saito said..." she is cut off by an angry yell

"That filthy fucking commoner! What did..." he is surprisingly cut off by an angry Cattleya. It not only surprises him but Louise as well. She had never seen Cattleya agitated let alone angry and she looked like she was closer to rage then anger.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME FATHER?! What the hell is wrong with you?! Where did our father go?!" she has never felt this angry before in her entire life.

"Who do you think you are speaking to daughter?!" the Duke snarls at her

"I have no idea who you are anymore! You certainly aren't the father I've known for so long! You tried to kill Saito and what did he do to get revenge on you? Nothing, instead he saved Louise from a traitor, a traitor that you had engaged her to! Then you try to kill him again..."

"I did no such thing!" the Duke interrupts

"He knows you told those men where to find him, father. He didn't tell anyone but me! and what kind of revenge does he take out on you for that?! None again! Instead, he meets me for the first time, a daughter of the man who tried to kill him twice, who he has no reason to trust at all and what does he do?! He offers to cure my illness you have spent thousands upon thousands of gold to rid me of FOR NOTHING! He just wanted to help me because he could! We only still have a trade and non-agrression military alliance with Germania because of what he did for them with the goblin tribes and demon summonings he disrupted. Yet, you still treat him like this after all he has done for our country! I am going back to get rid of this illness and nothing you say will stop me. You have a lot to think about because you are doing nothing but ruining our family! Goodbye father."

"Cattleya..." the Duke is interrupted again

"Come on Louise, we are leaving..." Cattleya says and grabs Louise by the wrist and drags her out of the room.

Louise looked at her father before they left the room and instead of looking angry, he looked completely confused. A look she never thought she would see on her father. He certainly had a lot to think about. Louise was glad Cattleya had never got angry at her before. She was very scary when she was angry.

* * *

 **Lagdorian Lake...**

Princess Henrietta was in the middle of a break from training with the Water Spirit. She had already learned quite a bit from the Water Spirit. Along with learning a few new spells, the Water Spirit taught her that by continuously giving magic to most of her spells would allow her to control them and keep them active for longer. Being able to control a tidal wave was very empowering but incredibly draining on her magic. It seemed the best use of this was in maintaining low-level healing spells to increase their effect unless she was in a dire situation. Her internal criticism of her lessons was interrupted by the Water Spirit.

"You and the Gandalfr seemed to have a much stronger bond than a normal royal guard Princess. I still haven't met his void mage which is strange. Usually, a void mage doesn't go anywhere without their Gandalfr." Dalila says to her

"Saito isn't bond to a void mage anymore. He gained those other runes when we did the ceremony to bind him to my service, Dalila." Henrietta tells the Water Spirit

Dalila might be a Water Spirit but the light blush the princess got when talking about the binding ceremony did not escape her.

"I see now..." Dalila says

"What do you mean?" Henrietta says

"It is pretty obvious when you think about it. Only one thing could make a Gandalfr into a True Gandalfr if the second contract wasn't with another void mage." Dalila says

"That still doesn't answer my question." Henrietta says again

"You love him correct?" Dalila says pretty bluntly

"I-I-I... ummm..." Henrietta's stutter is interrupted by Dalila

"You don't have to say it, it's pretty obvious. Only a bond like that would allow him to become the Gandalfr again to a mage who wasn't a void mage. Fear not little princess, I don't ever recall a Gandalfr not marrying their mage." Dalila says to her to make her feel a little better. It didn't seem to work

"I think in this instance you would be wrong Dalila." Henrietta says

"Since the first Gandalfr, it has always been the case. You think because he already has a bride to be that it will never happen for you?" she asks the princess

"That is exactly correct. Saito is not like anyone from here. He was brought up to love only one person and never keep something like a mistress let alone another wife. It is alright though, I accepted that a long time ago." she tells the Water Spirit

"If it is something you really want to have happened, perhaps you should rethink the conclusion you came to?" Dalila says

"Do you ever just say what you mean?" Henrietta giggles

"Humans seem to like to be eased into emotional situations. I'll be blunt then. Your bond would have never formed if he did not feel the same princess..." Henrietta isn't sure but she thinks the Water Spirit is smirking. "Why don't you take the rest of the day. I have a feeling you will be busy later on." Dalila says and disappears back into the water of the lake.

"Is your lesson for the day over your majesty?" Agnes asks

"Ohh, ummm... yes I suppose. Let's head back to camp." Henrietta says lost in her own thoughts about what the Water Spirit said to her.

As Henrietta and Agnes make their way back to camp, they both notice Tiffa saying goodbye to a man at the edge of the camp. He had on a blue cloak, darker blue mask, and had a container on his back. Henrietta was curious who that was Tiffa was talking to.

"Tiffa, who was that?" Henrietta asks and notices the container Tiffa is carrying now towards the camp.

"That was the Merchant, Henrietta. Saito gave me some pouches of gold for when he showed up." she motions to the three pouches on top of the container. "One was to pay him for his last package and the other three were to pay for whatever he was dropping off." Tiffa tells her

"Oh, why do you still have pouches then?" Henrietta asks

"He gave me ones with different amounts. Two with five hundred gold, one of those was what he owed him, one with a thousand, and one with two thousand. I only had to give him the one with a thousand for the latest package." Tiffa says

"He just gave you four thousand gold?" Henrietta asks wondering if anyone else realized how much money that actually was

"K-K-Kind of..." Tiffa is a little nervous at Henrietta tone now "I actually have another pouch Saito gave me. He said it was for me to get clothes and furniture and things like that but my room is furnished and I've been making my own clothes for as long as I remember. I tried giving it back but he said it was mine. I only used a little to pay some of the women who are taking care of the orphans in Tarbes." Tiffa says

"How much did he give you?" Henrietta asks

"A t-t-thousand gold..." she quietly admits "I've only had to buy supplies for the kids and I from the gold Mathilda gave me. I've never seen this much gold before but it seems like too much to just give to someone." Tiffa says to her. Henrietta's jaw just drops at the amount Saito gave to Tiffa.

 _'Five thousand gold! I could sustain Tristania for at least two years with that much and he's just giving it to people?!'_ Henrietta thinks to herself

"What's in the case that cost Saito a thousand gold?" Henrietta asks curiously

"I'm not sure. The Merchant said not to bother trying to open it because only Saito understood how to open it." Tiffa tells her

"I guess we just need to wait for Saito to get back to find out then." Henrietta says just as Julia is making her way to Henrietta.

"Your Highness, Saito, and company will be here in a few minutes. Our scouts spotted them heading down the road towards the lake." she reports to the princess

"Thank you, Julia. Looks like we won't have to wait long Tiffa hehe." Henrietta jokes

Just like Julia said, Saito and company arrived about five minutes later. Henrietta noticed they had two additional people from when they left. The blue hair of the extra woman kind of clued her in on the fact it was Tabitha's mother. The older gentleman accompanying them seemed like one of the De Orleans staff to Henrietta. Saito sees the princess is waiting for their arriving and goes to greet her after helping Siesta and Ara off of Dante.

"Hello Henrietta, it is nice to see you again." Saito says with a smirk

"I know you are trying to be funny but I'm glad you remember my words, Saito." Henrietta says with a smile and a small giggle

"Hello, your majesty." Siesta/Ara says to Henrietta

"Hello Siesta, Lady Ara..." Henrietta sighs "You are almost as bad as Saito. I told you to call me Henrietta." she tells them.

"Hi Mathilda, Tiffa. Are you guys enjoying your trip to the lake so far?" Saito asks the two of them

"It's ok. I really miss that royal bedroom they had me staying in." Mathilda laughs

"Yeah being able to clean yourself properly every day is something I miss dearly." Saito chuckles "How about you Tiffa?"

"I-I-I know the royal suite is really nice but I like it better out here. Makes it feel like home." Tiffa smiles

"Well, as long as you are comfortable that is all that matters." Saito says to her

"Oh! I almost forgot. Your creepy friend The Merchant stopped by not long ago to get his payment, and he had another package for you." Tiffa tells him

Saito just chuckles at Tiffa description of The Merchant. The guy did give off a creepy vibe when you met him. Tabitha said almost the exact same thing when he gave her the last package to deliver to Saito. Saito still had no idea how in the world The Merchant knew where he was going to be all the time but he had been nothing but helpful to Saito so he wasn't too concerned.

"Thanks Tiffa. Sorry I had you deal with him. I'll try and make sure that doesn't happen again." Saito says to her

"I didn't mind Saito! If it is to help you it isn't a burden at all." Tiffa says to him

"So Saito, are you ready to train with me and the Water Spirit?" Henrietta asks

"Ummm, actually your majesty..." Saito is cut off

"Back to your majesty huh. I'm guessing this is where you ask me to let you do something you don't think I will agree with." Henrietta says to him with a smirk

"We still need to take Tabitha's mother somewhere safe. It isn't safe in Gallia and I can't take her to Tarbes because it might cause an international incident so we were going to take her to Ara's tower in Germania." Saito says

"That's another 4 days of travel!" Henrietta says in not such a soft tone

"Actually, Ara knows a return magic. We only need to travel a couple hours past the lake and she will be able to take her and five people to the tower and back twice. I need to empty my pouches and bags because they are almost full, and we need to show Tabitha's mother and Percerin around so they know where everything is. Will a couple more hours be alright?" Saito is hoping she is fine with that since it will only be about four hours instead of four days before he returns

"That sounds good..."

"Thank you Henrietta." Saito says but Henrietta wasn't finished

"On one condition..." Henrietta says

"What condition is that?" Saito asks

"You have to take me also. I want a tour of this famous tower you and Lady Ara conquered." Henrietta says to him

"But your highness. We will not have the proper security for you if Lady Ara can only take a limited number of people with her magic." Agnes says to her

"You don't think Saito, who is my personal knight, the Sword of the People, and the True Gandalfr can do a good enough job to make sure I'm safe Agnes?" Henrietta asks her

"Of course I do your highness, it's just..."

"That you worry too much." Henrietta giggles "I promise I will be fine. Saito won't let anything happen to me, right Saito?"

"Of course not Henrietta. I would never let harm come to you if I was alive to stop it." Saito tells her

"That is no problem. I'll take Saito, Siesta, Henrietta, Tabitha, and her mother on the first trip then I'll return for Percerin and Kirche. That way when we leave Tabitha's mother and Percerin at the tower, I'll be able to bring Tabitha and Kirche back with us and I won't run out of magic." Ara says

"We could always use some guards for the plank Ara has to leave behind. Agnes, you could grab two of the musket squad to watch it while the princess is with us." Saito says to her

"Since the princess is going, I'm bringing all of the musket squad." Agnes says to him

"No Agnes, I need some people here to watch after Tiffa just in case. Only bring you and two others as Saito suggested." Henrietta says to her

"C-C-Can I see what is in the case before you go, Saito?" Tiffa asks. She is genuinely curious now what could possibly be inside

"Sure Tiffa." Saito says and Tiffa runs off to grab the case out of her bag.

"He said only you knew how to open this." She holds up the case with the bags of gold sitting on top he left. Saito sets the case down and looks down at the seven-digit combination lock all set to 0 at the moment. He changes the first and last number to 1 then pushes in both buttons at the same time and the case snaps open.

"Was that really all it took Saito?" Siesta asks

"Yeah, he always sets the combination for me to my zip code from back home so I never forget it." Saito chuckles

"What's a zip code?" a bunch of them ask

"It's how we know where our mail goes back home. It is a lot more complicated than that but that is the easiest way for me to describe it." Saito says and reaches into the case to see what goodies The Merchant has for him this time. Last time it was frag grenades, Molotov cocktails before that, he couldn't wait to see what he had in store this time especially since he never had to pay so much for a package before.

"Wow, a whole bunch of goodies and this case seems to be magic unlike the others he's given me..." Saito says as he starts pulling things out of the case "more Molotov cocktails, more frag grenades, ammo and four empty clips for my Blacktail, what the hell is this?" Saito says as he pulls out what looks like a scroll of some sort. He unrolls it and starts to read it. "I have no idea what this says."

Ara and Siesta are looking over his shoulder at the scroll also.

"I can't read that either Saito." Siesta says

Ara is just looking intently at the scroll. Her eyes growing wider and wider the longer she reads, something not only Saito but everyone else realizes also.

"Ara? Care to share what this is?" Saito asks her

"Saito, this is a spell scroll for a pentagram level death spell!" Ara says obviously beyond excited.

"I thought spells didn't go over square class Ara?" Saito asks

"I have never seen a spell this powerful Saito. I didn't even think they existed. I've never heard of something so powerful." Ara replies

"Why don't you take it then Ara? No one else here will be able to use it." Saito says

"Saito! I can't take this. Do you have any idea how much someone would be willing to pay for a spell this powerful?" Ara asks. She is pretty sure Saito doesn't realize most people would sell everyone in their family into slavery for a spell this powerful.

"It doesn't matter how much it costs. Just like when we conquered the Dark Lord's tower, we each took the items that benefitted each of us. No one here can use this except you. You are going to take it." Saito says and shoves the scroll into her hands

Ara opened her mouth to protest then closed it again then opened it again only to close it. She wanted to find a way to reject him but when she thought about it, he was right. It wasn't like she could pass this spell on to her family, no one had the kind of affinity for the Dark Arts that she did. She would never teach it to another necromancer. She had yet to meet a friendly one other than herself and her teacher. She is broken out of her thoughts by Saito.

"No way..." Saito says in awe. He has an open letter in his right hand and a long black case in his left hand

"What is that Saito?" Siesta asks

"Funny that you would be the one to ask. I'll show you..." he pulls the top part off the black case and everyone can see the hilt of a very strange looking sword.

The guard was circular made with a white material and an intricate pattern they couldn't quite make out from this angle. There was a soft, white material wrapped around the grip. At the bottom of the grip was a carving of a dragon head. When Saito pulled it completely out, everyone noticed how the entire sword had a distinct curve from the base of the grip all the way to the tip of the blade.

"This is a katana from my country, more specifically, this is the Honjo Masamune. Regarded as one of the greatest swords ever made in the history of the world." Saito takes a few swings with it. It feels light beyond words and feels like he is cutting through the actual air, there is absolutely no resistance from the wind when he swings it.

"I've never seen a sword like that before." Agnes says

"Not many ever do. Not only does no one here know how to make a katana, one this nice is usually in a museum of some kind. Siesta, give it a try." he hands her the sword grip first for her to take. She gives a few swings and lunges.

"Wow, this is light as a feather. I don't feel any resistance when I swing it. It will work well for you with Derf, Saito. Are you going to learn to fight with two weapons?" Siesta asks

"No, Derf is perfect for me and I need a free hand for my Blacktail and other things I keep in my pouches. That actually isn't for me." he hands the letter to Siesta and she starts reading it.

"T-T-This is for me?! What?" Siesta says after reading the letter

"What?!" everyone but Saito says. He just grabs the letter and holds it up for everyone to read.

 _"Brother Saito,_

 _This is the Honjo Masamune from your home country. I'm sure you can explain the details of a katana to everyone and this particular one's history. I am glad to see you have befriended a number of mages. You will need their help if you are to succeed, but always remember there is a limit to everyone's magic. Sharp steel never runs out. I believe it would be fitting for your beautiful bride to be to watch your back with a piece of home. Call it a wedding gift. See you again."_

 _The Merchant_

"You chose the rapier because it is lightweight correct? The Merchant might be strange but he is a good man as far as I can tell. This is a wedding present for you from him. It shouldn't take you very long to get used to it. Just a couple tweaks in your fighting style and you should be good to go. We should probably get a move on if we want to hurry back." Saito says

"No need to rush Saito. You owe me a tour!" Henrietta says to him

* * *

 **At Ara's tower after everyone was transported...**

"Saito, do you want to head to the vault and I'll start the tour for everyone?" Ara says to him

"Sure, that sounds..."

"Oh no, your not getting out of my tour that easy Saito." Henrietta says and takes Saito's left arm "You are going to escort this lady on a proper tour. Siesta can join us, you have another arm." she giggles at the end while Saito is holding back the blush from the princess being pressed up against him

"That sounds good. We will meet you upstairs after we go to the vault Ara." Siesta says

Ara uses the transport pad to take everyone but the three of them up to the living quarters. After they left, Saito used the transport pad to take them to the vault. Ara had told him it was only two floors below them, but since Saito had never been there, he didn't want to get lost with the princess with him and used the transport pad.

Henrietta, Saito, and Siesta arrived at the vault and Saito did as Ara instructed him earlier. He put his hand on the slightly miscolored tile, spoke his name along with Siesta and Henrietta's. The door opened up in front of him into a long hallway with an impressive looking door at the end of the hall. When Saito got within twenty feet of the door, it began to open on its own. The only thing inside the vault was a chest. Saito wasn't sure what was in there but figured Ara already knew. He was just here to empty most of his pouches and ask Siesta a couple of questions. As they were going into the vault, Saito started asking some of his questions.

"Siesta, you know I don't know much about how things work here, but back home in Japan, my mother, well all of the eldest women in the house, ran the household. Making sure bills were paid, taxes were paid, food was in the house, etc... Is it the same here?"

"There are a few exceptions but pretty much that is how it goes. Why do you ask Saito?" Siesta asks

"Well, I have no idea how much things like that cost here. I could tell you prices for potions, monster materials, weapons, and things like that but I have no idea how much it costs to maintain a household. I was hoping that was something you could do when we get married because I am lost on that subject." Saito says to her

"Well, my mother taught me how to so I don't see that being a problem, but we don't really have a house for me to worry about. Also, she taught me how to manage a farm for a commoner. I'm sure I could figure it out if we didn't live on a farm but I'd have a little learning curve." Siesta replies

"I just hope I have enough gold or I'll have to keep monster hunting forever." Saito laughs

"How much do you have Saito?" Henrietta asks. She really wanted to know considering he just left Tiffa with thousands of gold.

"Well, I still have a lot I need to sell. Weapons, armor, spell ingredients, and other such things, but as far as just gold goes. I'd say, I have around, ummm... one hundred thousand gold. Is that enough?" Saito asks.

He didn't hear either of them answer so he turns to look at them before emptying his first pouch. Both of them are just standing there with their mouths open, staring at him like he has lost his mind. He just starts waving his hand in front of their faces wondering if something just happened to them.

"Ummm... earth to Siesta? Henrietta you there?" he says still waving his hands

"Saito, you are kidding right?" Siesta finally says

"I mean, my count might be off a little but it has to be somewhere around there." he replies

"It takes about one hundred gold a year to run my families farm. That's enough for a thousand years!" Siesta says

"Saito, I could maintain the palace in Tristania for centuries with that much gold. Do not tell anyone you have that much gold here. This place will get attacked all the time if people find out." Henrietta warns Saito. Siesta and Henrietta see Saito's face change like he just finally understood something after she said that.

"What did you just realize love?" Siesta asks

"I wondered why when we were staying with your uncle that the pottery shop owner acted so happy at me buying five hundred gold worth of pottery or when the manager of the Dragon Inn treated me like a king when I dropped a thousand gold in front of him and just walked up to a room. It all makes sense now. Good thing I got you to make sure I stop overpaying for things Siesta." Saito says and laughs at the end and starts emptying his pouches.

The first three were nothing but gold, gold bars, silver bars, and gems. Then came the pouches with armor, weapons, shields, and countless other items, almost enough to equip a small army. By the time Saito was finished, the once empty treasury, with the exception of the one chest, had the floor covered in gold. Right as Saito was finishing up, he heard someone call out to him from down the hall.

"Saito! Hey, we are going to start dow... what the hell?!" Ara says

"You're alone right Ara?" Saito looks behind her and doesn't see any else following her down the hall. "Ummm... this is what I had to drop off, surprise!" Saito says getting a good laugh at the look on Ara's face.

"Saito, where in the world did you get all of that?" Ara asks

"From monster hunting and bills. The Germanian government gave me a good amount of money also. When we beat back all those goblins and stopped the demon summoning rituals, they found a good amount of treasure and I got a portion of it. I believe they gave a good amount to Tristania right princess?" Saito asks

"Yes, we did but I still don't understand how you made this much gold." Henrietta says

"Well, monsters drop a lot of things, and it occurs more often then you would think. Siesta how many monsters have you killed since we left Tarbes?" he asks her

"I'd say probably around twenty, and I guess about twelve or thirteen of them dropped something. So a little over half the time for me." Siesta replies

"That sounds about right. Just think Henrietta, on my first trip to Germania, I killed probably a thousand to two thousand goblins and a few hundred undead, not to mention all the monsters I killed just getting to the border of Germania, then fighting Ara's golem, taking this tower with Ara, making my way back to Tristania. I've basically been fighting non-stop for the last year." Saito says to them

"Well, let's go back to everyone else. I don't want anyone to see how much you just put in there. I'll also change the settings on the door so that only you and Siesta can enter here." Ara says to Saito.

"Ara, if you ever need gold just come and grab it. You don't have to lock yourself out of your own vault. I trust you completely." Saito says

"Saito, you are too nice for your own good." Ara says

"Only to those I care about Ara. Well, let's continue your tour, Henrietta." Saito says and sticks his arm out for her to take. Siesta does the same and they continue on their way to tour the tower.

Henrietta wanted the long version of the tour so it took over an hour. No one seemed to mind and the tour went along pretty well. They showed them each area they could and told them about any monsters they fought in those areas. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the stories and listened intently. The only awkward moment was when he showed everyone his and Siesta's bedroom. He wasn't quite sure why they needed to see it but he showed them anyway.

The awkward moment came when Saito was tackled onto the bed by Siesta, Ara, Henrietta, and Kirche. He was embarrassed beyond all reason at having these four women on top of him in bed until he heard the laugh Siesta was letting out. He could tell she was enjoying herself like a normal teenager would instead of fighting for their lives like they had been doing for quite some time now. Even Tabitha let out a little giggle when they did that even if she didn't join in on tackling him so he just enjoyed it himself like everyone else was. Well, maybe not like everyone else was.

* * *

 **Back at Lagdorian Lake...**

Since they all ate dinner after the tour, Ara and Siesta felt bad for everyone left behind so they brought them dinner as well. It would be better than anything they could cook by a campfire and Siesta had become quite the chef. She had always been a good cook but her other duties at her previous job prevented her from practicing too much. Since she started journeying with Saito, she had plenty of opportunities to hone her skills.

Saito was going to set up his and Siesta's tent when Agnes told him, not only did they already have a tent for them, but it was right next to the princess'. The Musketeers were checking the perimeter, Ara was studying her new scroll, Siesta, Tiffa, Mathilda and everyone else went off into the woods to gather some things. That just left Saito and Henrietta standing around with nothing to do. Saito thought this might be the best time to follow through on a promise he made to the princess a while ago.

"This isn't exactly what I had in mind when I promised you all those months ago, but do you want to take that ride I promised you outside the castle walls? Seems everyone else already has things to do." Saito says to her. Henrietta gets a big smile on her face at his suggestion.

"That sounds lovely Saito. I'll go get Lady Ginger." she says and heads towards where her unicorn is currently grazing. Saito just needs to call for Dante for him to come so he follows the princess just in case. Regardless of the titles he acquired or the various missions he was doing, he was Henrietta's knight and protector, and he had been doing a terrible job of that as of late.

It didn't take long for Henrietta and Saito to get to Lady Ginger. Henrietta started to put the saddle on Lady Ginger, Saito offered to help but she refused. As Saito was watching her put the saddle on, he saw she had gotten much better at it since the first time he showed her how to take care of Lady Ginger. That memory brought a chuckle to him and drew Henrietta's attention.

"Are you laughing at me, Saito?!" Henrietta says while pointing at him

"No Henrietta, well kind of I guess." he chuckles again "Do you remember the first time I taught you how to saddle Lady Ginger?" he asks

Henrietta gets a light blush on her face thinking about the time he is mentioning. Clueless Saito assumes she is embarrassed because he remembers her collapsing from the weight of the saddle, but what Henrietta is thinking about is tackling Saito into the hay, and if it wasn't for Agnes interruption, the fact they probably would have kissed for the first time then.

"As you can see, I have gotten much better since then Saito." Henrietta says with a smile

"You certainly have Henrietta." Saito says

Once the horses were set to go, they both took off at a slow trot to enjoy a ride around the lake. To anyone who didn't know who they were, they looked like a happy couple enjoying a ride together along the lake. Henrietta was pointing out the different animals she was seeing and just enjoying the scenery around her. It looked like Saito was doing the same but he was checking the surroundings for enemies. Occasionally, he would steal a glance at Henrietta who seemed to be enjoying herself thoroughly.

 _'She just seems like a normal young woman enjoying her time right now. I'm glad the princess can let go of her duties every once in a while and just enjoy herself. She deserves that much for all she is doing for her people.'_ Saito thinks to himself when he looks at Henrietta

"Hey Saito." Henrietta says

"Yes, Henrietta?" Saito replies

"Do you and Dante want to race Lady Ginger and me?" she asks

"Hmmm, let me ask Dante." Saito says then whispers in Dante's ear and he gives him a loud neigh. "Seems Dante is fine with that. Ready when you ar-"

Saito is cut off by Henrietta and Lady Ginger taking off without warning. Dante keeps pace with Lady Ginger just behind her. Once they had been racing for a few hundred meters, Saito saw the incredibly happy smile on Henrietta's face as she looked back to see where he was. He can't remember ever seeing such a genuine smile on her face which is saying a lot because Henrietta always had a genuine smile on her face. He just gave her a grin and let Dante know it was time to put the whisper into action. Dante accelerated to a speed most people didn't believe any animal could reach and they sped past Henrietta and Lady Ginger like they were standing still. Saito and Dante stopped a little farther ahead to wait for them to catch up.

"Seems we win this round, your majesty." Saito says and gives a small bow to her with a smile on his face.

"We will get them next time right Lady Ginger?" Henrietta says to the unicorn and it responds with a neigh as if to say, "you got lucky this time!" Which in turn made Dante neigh again that almost sounded like a laugh.

"Would you like to take a break for a little while, Henrietta?" Saito asks

"I would like that Saito. Let me find somewhere to tie up Lady Ginger." Henrietta says to him

"Don't worry about that. Dante will look after her and make sure she doesn't get into any trouble." Saito replies.

He jumps down from Dante, reaches into one of his pouches, pulls out a blanket and spreads it on the ground for the princess to sit down on. Once Henrietta sits down, Saito takes a seat next to her and they stare out at the lake. After a few minutes of silence, they start talking about Saito's travels and everything he has been up to the last few months. He asks Henrietta about everything she has been doing while he was off on missions, and their quick break suddenly turned into a few hours of story swapping.

Neither one had really noticed that every time they would laugh about something or shift to look at the other that they were inching their way closer to one another. Not long after they sat down, they were sitting right up against one another. At the end of their story time, Henrietta put her head on Saito's shoulder and said...

"Thank you, Saito."

"What for Henrietta?" Saito asks confused at the sudden thank you.

"For this. It is nice to just get some time to myself without having to be a princess. I don't get to do this very often." Saito puts his arm around her shoulders, leans his head down on top of hers and gives her a quick, gentle squeeze.

"It is my pleasure Henrietta." he says and let's go of the hug. It was ok to give her some comfort in his eyes but she was still the princess so he didn't want to push his luck.

"We should probably go back. I'm surprised Agnes hasn't sent out a search party for me yet." Henrietta giggles

She starts to stand up with Saito but her legs are a little numb from sitting for so long. She starts to sway a little bit and fall forward. Before she can fall, Saito wraps his arms around her to catch her.

"Are you alright Henrietta?" he asks obviously concerned. She looks up and is only a couple inches from his face. They stare into each other's eyes for a few seconds then Henrietta straightens herself up.

"I'm fine, thank you, Saito. It seems we were sitting for longer than I thought." she says then both of them get on their mounts and head back to camp.

Siesta was sitting around the campfire with just about everyone else that was there with the exception of the few musketeers on guard duty, Henrietta, and Saito. When she heard the distinctive gait of Dante coming towards them, she knew Saito and Henrietta were almost back to camp. It wasn't as though she had some superpower that could tell different mounts apart from each other. She could only do that with Dante.

He was by far the biggest horse she had ever seen but also incredibly fast and nimble. The combination of size and light-footedness made his sound very distinct to her. She honestly didn't quite understand how she could pick out Dante so easily since she couldn't tell the difference between any other horse, but she was almost certain she could pick him up even in the middle of a battlefield. From the look on Ara's face, she could do the same.

She watched Saito dismount as expertly as always and on the side of whatever woman he planned on helping down _'always the gentleman'_ she thinks. What took her by surprise, in a very good way, was how he help Henrietta off her unicorn. He always held out his hands for the person to grab on to brace for the small fall with the exception of Siesta and Ara. How he helped them down was how he was now helping Henrietta down.

She guessed judging from the quick look of surprise and light blush the princess had. She was just as surprised when he grabbed her by the waist and lowered her to the ground. He then just started walking towards the fire with Henrietta like it was the normal thing to do. Siesta looked at Ara who seemed to notice this also and gave her a quick nod when she looked her way.

Siesta and Ara had talked earlier about a different way to go about their plan. Saito seemed to be on the verge of asking Siesta about it and she wasn't sure she wanted to have that conversation with him yet. It was probably cowardly of her but she honestly didn't think she wanted to have that talk until they were married. It probably sounded horrible, even she kind of thought it was, but she didn't want to lose Saito ever.

The new plan was fairly simple. It was actually just pretty much the same plan with a slight modification. Do everything they had been doing when it came to being a little flirty, small affections like hugs or kisses on the cheek, and just being closer than usual when you could. The difference would be, no teasing Saito about it.

It was hard to remember that underneath the True Gandalfr, the Swords of the People, Royal Guard of Tristania, Savior of Tarbes, and other things Saito had done so far that he was still just a teenager. He was still just an eighteen year old. Sure Saito was mature but he was still a kid in a way. Teasing him about something would still make him embarrassed and kind of go into a shell. Hopefully, by leaving out the teasing, he would just get comfortable with it naturally.

"Hey Saito! You and Henrietta come sit here." Siesta says when they approach pointing at the two empty seats beside her.

"Oh, where were you-" Kirche is about to say something but feels someone glaring at her like they wanted to kill her. She looks over and sees Siesta just staring at her, shaking her head slightly.

"I took the princess on a ride around the lake. Why?" Saito asks Kirche

"No reason." Kirche says

They sat around for about another hour talking then everyone headed off to bed. Tomorrow Saito was training with Henrietta and the Water Spirit. Saito was kind of excited about it. He hadn't been able to train or fight much of anything lately. He was either on horseback traveling somewhere or training others. It didn't leave much time for him to train himself and he didn't want to get too rusty.

"It is good to see you brought the Gandalfr with you today princess. We can start your combination training today. I hope you are well rested since we only did a half days training yesterday." Dalila says

"I feel great today Dalila." Henrietta says

"Good, today's training will be rather, to be honest, but very useful for when you fight together. Regardless of how you see the Gandalfr, he is your familiar princess. Normally, a Gandalfr is used to by time for their void mage to cast their spells. It takes a long time for a void mage to cast a spell especially when the longer the chant, the more powerful the spell. Since you are not a void mage, and he is a True Gandalfr, your bond is not only different, but stronger than it would normally be." the Water Spirit says

"But isn't my unicorn Lady Ginger my familiar, Dalila?" she asks

"She is but you can have more than one familiar. What we are practicing today is focusing on the Gandalfr to use your magic through him." Dalila says

"What do you mean 'use my magic through him'?" Henrietta asks

"He will always be in front of you in battle, well almost always. You can't be casting a spell like Tidal Wave, Wall of Water, or Freezing Sphere with him standing in front of you because you might catch him in the area of effect." the Water Spirit says

"Yeah, I would like to avoid getting hit with those if possible." Saito jokes and Henrietta laughs

"You can focus your magic and use the Gandalfr like you normally would use a wand. Focus your magic on him and your spell will actually be cast directly in front of him almost as if he was casting the spell instead of you." Dalila finishes

"That would certainly be handy." Saito says and Henrietta nods her head in agreement.

"Well, let's get started." the Water Spirit says and they start their training for the day.

They trained together with the Water Spirit for three days. They learned a lot of good techniques to use in all kinds of situations from the Water Spirit since their bond was slightly different than the one you have with a normal familiar. Saito even tried to get Ara to teach him that new spell she learned since his runes didn't care what element the spell was just how powerful the teacher was. When she explained he should wait until she trained herself so the spell would last longer, he finally gave in to just learning it later on. After another day of traveling, they finally arrived back at the academy.

* * *

and there is Chapter 13... I tried to make it a little longer than most chapter since it has been a while... hope everyone enjoyed it... I'm aiming for updating at least once a month for now since life has gotten a little crazy around me but if I can update more than that I certainly will... see everyone next chapter!


	14. Relationships Aren't One Sided

Disclaimer: I do not own anything

"Talking"

 _'Thinking'_

 ***ABILITY/SPELL/SKILL***

 **A/N:** I know it has been a while but I'm sort of back... I'm struggling with content for chapter for this fanfic so it is taking me quite a while to write chapters... I'm doing all I can to figure out what to do and I will update as much as I can... hope you don't mind waiting through my struggles as I figure out exactly where to take this fanfic... thanks for still reading!

 **OechsnerC:** you'll get what you asked for in this chapter... it's hard for me to come up with content for this story since I've only seen the anime... I planned on doing this anyway, you just hastened it with your suggestion lol

 **Dozer:** I have gotten a good amount of practice writing my Overlord fanfic and some other authors have been giving me some tips to improve my writing style... it has obviously paid off if you are enjoying it more now then you did before... hope you continue enjoying the story

 **plp855:** I'll try to answer your plot hole questions the best I can for you... first one, you have to remember that Saito is unusually strong in this world... OP would be the best way to describe him... most people die who take up monster hunting so they never earn much money... in the original story, a decent amount of people are monster hunters but not a lot... there isn't a guild or anything just a place to exchange items in most big cities so no formal training or anything... my last point for that question will also somewhat answer your second question... if you read the whole story so far, you can tell that I have cut down on the random encounters quite a bit... the reason for that is Saito has been traveling those routes constantly and killing the monsters who attack him... they don't respawn like they would in a game instantly... it takes time for the magic of the area to create a new monster or for them to have little baby monsters etc... so it isn't an infinite loop of respawns to draw from... it is true monsters live near some villages and things but remember that Tarbes is a frontier village... and monsters might want to eat people but they aren't stupid enough to charge into a human city to get killed for no reason... lastly, the nobles are in charge... not sure where you got the impression they weren't but they are... the royal family simply included commoners in their court but the royal family still rules the country... nobles are on the royal court just like commoners... it is just that nobles are no longer allowed to treat commoners like property, instead, they have to treat them like human beings... hope that at least answered a little of your questions... not sure if that is what you are looking for but hope it helped... you can always message me if you have any other questions or leave another review for this chapter... thanks for reading

 **246vili:** Don't worry, you'll find out in this chapter how Saito will keep his end of the bargain with the Queen :-) not that he will know about it quite yet... you can call it a harem lol... Fanclub is funny though lmao... Tabitha is honestly the one person I can say I have no plans to put in the harem... I'm sure there are plenty of people who want her in... I love Tabitha's character myself but there is a reason she won't... it will be similar to the reason she did get with Saito in Saving Grace, but the opposite pairing will happen that's all... If you haven't read that fanfic, I suggest you do it immediately... Autobot Rewind's fanfic, FoZ: Saving Grace is the reason I do harem fanfics in the first place... the reason it's on hiatus is I don't know much about FoZ... I've only seen the anime and never read the LNs so it's difficult for me to come up with content... I'd say if I posted this, I'll be finishing it, but I said that before then went on hiatus lol... I'll definitely try to finish this fanfic but I can't promise it will be

Time for the next chapter!

* * *

Spending a night in an actual bed again had done wonders for Saito. He could honestly say he was never uncomfortable on the road or with camping. That sentiment had been incredibly true since Siesta began accompanying Saito on his journeys.

No matter if he was in a bed, on a cot, or the ground, Siesta's presence at his side always made him feel comfortable and at home. Saito was certain he could sleep in the dirt for the rest of his life and it would be comfortable if he woke up next to Siesta.

Like right now, Siesta was still sleeping. Her head was resting on his chest, her arm was draped over his middle, and her leg was thrown over his. Saito could honestly lay here for the rest of time watching Siesta sleep on him. It was very calming to the Gandalfr.

Unfortunately, there was too much to do to spend all his time in bed. Today is the day he would really start training the Musketeers. Saito had given them all exercises and instructions on how to work on building their KI, but today he would be seeing what they learned on their own.

After he got a good idea where they stood, he would tweak all their training, and push them harder than they have ever been pushed before. He knew a war was coming and he didn't know how much time they had until they had no choice but to join. He wanted them as ready as possible when that moment came.

Not only had he developed a good re pore with all the Musketeers, but he also wanted them to be as strong as possible. Their loyalty and dedication to Princess Henrietta were what made Saito resolute in making that happen.

Saito had never seen a monarch who cared so deeply for every single one of her people. If any ruler in this world deserved to have the strongest protectors, it was Princess Henrietta.

Every Musketeer had kept her word as well. They had not taught or told anyone about how to develop their KI so he had no qualms making them as strong as the Knights of Tarbes.

Saito let out a sigh wishing once more he could just stay in this bed with Siesta forever, but it was time to get up. He ran his hand up and down Siesta's back to get her body waking up, and kissed her to the top of her head.

Saito seemed to have started to wake up Siesta, but what happened when he did made him freeze. Siesta's hand slid down a little too far as he was kissing her head and landed right on his crotch.

Saito knew that eventually, he would not react like this, but he couldn't help it. He and Siesta had never done anything more than kiss even if they slept in the same bed every night.

He wasn't sure what to do if he was being honest. A very large part of him wanted her to keep her hand there, wake up, realize where her hand was, and do something about the morning wood he was sporting now especially since it was in her hand.

Another part of him remembered his father saying that you should never sleep with a woman until she was your wife. A part of his brain was telling him to pick up her hand and wake her up so he didn't dishonor his fiance. Another, much louder, part of his brain was telling him all the things he wished to do to Siesta.

There was no doubt his mind had taken a turn in that direction because Siesta was no longer resting her hand there. No, she was rubbing it. He didn't realize it at first, for it was hard to concentrate, but she was whispering something. When he finally focused enough, he heard her very lightly say.

"Saitooooooo..."

Saito thought focusing on her voice would distract him from what she was doing, but it only made it worse. If he thought her rubbing him was distracting, realizing she was moaning his name in her sleep while she did it made his situation even worse. Saito did the only thing his brain could think of at the moment.

He jumped out of bed as fast as he could facing away from Siesta.

The sudden movement had obviously wakened Siesta up since Saito could hear her waking up behind him. There was no way he could look at her right now.

First, seeing her in her pajamas right now would not help him calm down. Secondly, he couldn't turn around or she would see his body's reaction to her and he didn't want to have that embarrassing conversation or nonconversation.

"Saito?"

Her sleepy voice almost startled Saito. He wasn't quite prepared for her to wake up that quickly, and he needed to figure out a way to be out of sight for a bit. Luckily, he was facing the bathroom so it was a great excuse.

"Sorry love. I really need to go to the bathroom."

Saito didn't even wait for her response. He just dashed into the bathroom and closed the door. Since he couldn't look at Siesta, he never saw the sly grin on her face as he shut the bathroom door.

Her grin quickly morphed into a slight frown. If he would have just stayed there a bit longer, her hand was going to "slip" up a little too high and when it went back down, it would be in his pajamas and there would have been no fabric between what she wanted.

Saito's time in the bathroom did wonders to calm his "friend" down, but nothing to calm his mind. The thoughts that raced through his mind where hard to separate and think about individually.

 _'Does she want to do that? Did she react like that in her sleep because we haven't done that yet? Did she just accept to wait because that is what he thought was right? What if she doesn't want to wait? Am I just pushing how I was raise onto her? This is a different world but even in my old world, my father's views weren't exactly the norm for the time.'_

Saito didn't have an answer to any of these questions, but he couldn't stop his mind from asking them. Satio had enough thinking for the time being and just needed to get back into the room. It would look weird if he spent all this time in the bathroom.

It was time to get ready for the day, but he couldn't stop the thought that he was pushing his ways onto Siesta. He never intended to do that, but she never voiced any opposition to it beforehand.

Saito supposed he didn't really give her a chance to. He just assumed she wanted to wait as well. Perhaps he should talk to her about it. He was still thinking about all these things when he exited the bathroom, and he never noticed Siesta was standing right outside the door waiting for him to exit.

When he did, she jumped right into his arms, wrapped her legs around his waist, arms around his neck, and planted a searing kiss on his lips. Saito can't recall Siesta ever kissing him with so much passion.

Before he knew what was happening, they were pressed up against the wall making out like two horny teenagers. All that time he spent calming down was completely irrelevant again.

His hands were planted on her ass feeling every inch of its perfect form he could manage. Siesta has always been beautiful, but after she started training, her body went to another level of desireable.

Every inch of her was toned, firm, but somehow still soft. The feeling of her skin under his fingers as his hands wandered sent him to another level as well and he started grinding himself into her as they were pressed up against the wall.

Saito couldn't help himself. Siesta was turning him on so much he was just doing it without thinking. When he heard her moan his name into his mouth at his actions though, he realized what he was doing.

Saito let his hands go, let Siesta down, and took a step back. One more second of that and he would lose control. If he heard Siesta moan his name like that, he would probably lose it as well and rip her pajamas off in an instant.

"What's wrong Saito? Did I do something wrong?"

Siesta's worried tone made Saito want to slap himself. He should have realized she would think she did something wrong instead of it being his fault. His brain, heart, and body were at war with each other and the last thing he wanted was Siesta thinking it was her fault.

"No Siesta... It's... me... you're perfect... it's just..."

Siesta had never seen Saito so confused before. He normally knew what to say pretty quickly but he was stumbling over every word. She could tell he wanted her. His body could not hide that from her.

She thought she had worn away a bit at his worry about being with her enough, but it seemed she couldn't contain herself long enough and he still wasn't ready. She had wanted him since he rescued her from Count Mott at the least.

If she thought about it, it was probably since the first time they shared a bath. Now she was worried she went too fast and he would pull away from her. His words shocked her though.

"Siesta..." he finally looks her in the eye. "are you... are you waiting because I said we should?"

"Saito, I..."

Now it was Siesta's turn to try and figure out what to say. She wanted to say yes, but what if he thought less of her and left? She couldn't handle that. It was why she was waiting until they were married to have that other talk with him.

The more she thought about it though, the more she thought she should just tell him the truth. If she waited, it would look as if she trapped him in marriage before talking to him about something that would change their relationship forever.

"Do you... do you really want to have this conversation?"

Siesta had to be sure he was ready to talk about something like this. She knew she needed to at least answer his question honestly. Perhaps that would lead to them having that other conversation sooner and she would stop feeling guilty about deciding to wait to tell him.

"Yes, I... I need to know, Siesta."

"Alright, wait here."

Siesta abruptly stepped past him and out the door in her pajamas. He was confused for a moment but she was back in less than a minute. He wanted to ask where she went but there was something more important he wanted to know.

As soon as she stepped back in, he could see the look in her eyes. She looked more determined than normal. As if she came to some conclusion out in the hallway. He hadn't moved since she left and he quickly found himself very close to Siesta once more as she stared into his eyes.

"Yes, Saito. I am waiting because you want to. I'm sorry if I am being too forward."

"Why... Why didn't you say anything before this?"

"I didn't want to lose you, Saito."

"Why would you think..."

"We were raised differently, Saito. I didn't want you to think less of me because I wanted something that you didn't. I could never dream of being with someone like you. I would do anything to be with you. Waiting a few months wouldn't be that hard, but it seems I was wrong and can't control myself very well."

"Siesta, you know I would never think less of you, right? It's my fault we never talked about this before. How long have you felt like this Siesta?"

"When you came and saved me from Count Mott. I had dreamed that you would see me in that revealing red maid outfit. My cleavage on full display, that short skirt that barely covered me, my black stockings, and high heels and you wouldn't be able to contain yourself. You would throw me on the bed and claim me as yours right then. If I really think about it though, it was probably the first time we shared a bath together."

"I'm sorry you felt you couldn't be honest with me Siesta. I want you to be able to be yourself all the time. I want you to have the life you want and deserve Siesta."

"If you never came here, I would already be used up by Count Mott and either be sold to a brothel or another noble by now. That is the life I was expecting Saito, not to be marrying a man I love more than anything. I don't want our differences in what we are comfortable with, in this relationship, to break us apart. I will wait if that is what you want, Saito."

"Siesta, I..."

Siesta puts a finger up to his lips to quiet him. She didn't want his answer right now, she wanted him to think about it. She can tell he was trying to figure it out in his mind. That didn't mean she wouldn't try to persuade him if he would let her.

"I want you to think about it, Saito. Don't answer me right now. Go about your day and tonight, we can talk more."

"I'll try Siesta."

 _'If I'm going to be this forward, I might as well find out how far he is willing to let me go now.'_

Siesta couldn't help but think that. There was no more waiting, no more plotting, no more secret little seductions. It was time for Saito to realize exactly how badly Siesta wanted him and how long she has wanted it for.

"Try? Did us making out that passionately really distract you so much it will be hard for you to think?"

There were a lot of answers Saito wanted to give to that question. He wanted to tell her yes. He was still so hard from what they had just been doing it was almost painful. His brain could barely think of anything but how her body felt as his fingers roamed her flesh. Saito couldn't figure out exactly what to say so he just nodded his head.

Saito saw Siesta put a finger on her chin as if she was thinking then she looked at him and slowly started walking toward him. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal to him, but the look in her eye and the way she was swaying her hips made him match her steps.

Only he wasn't walking toward her, he was retreating. The look in her eye was almost predatory as if she wanted to devour him on the spot. He had only gotten to take a few steps before his back was against the wall and Siesta was right in front of him, pressed up against him.

"And what if I could help you relax so you could think more clearly, Saito?"

The question certainly sounded innocent, but the way she used her fingers to move up his chest as if they were walking a path up the center of him could not be described as innocent. The look in her eye would have made him hard if he wasn't already hard as a rock.

"H-How do you p-plan on doing t-that?"

Saito had always known how beautiful Siesta was, but he had no idea she could be this sexy and seductive. Her tone mixed with that fact her hair was messed up, and her top buttons had come undone in their passionate make-out session made him stumble out his question.

It was as if he was some green boy who had never laid eyes on a woman before. Siesta took a half step back before answering and Saito missed her presence against him immediately.

"If it makes you uncomfortable, just tell me and I'll stop. Are you willing to let me try Saito?"

"O-Okay."

"Good, now close your eyes." Saito does as he is told. "Take a few deep breaths." Saito complies again. "Now just think of something that makes you happy Saito. Let that image calm your mind so you can think clearly."

 *****LEMON BEGIN*****

Saito listened to everything Siesta was saying. He thought it was working, not because his body had calmed down yet, but because it sounded as if Siesta was getting farther away from him.

He thought it was his mind relaxing, but he realized why she was getting farther away when he felt his sleeping pants being pulled down and felt his cock spring free and land on something.

He opened his eyes and looked down. His cock was resting across Siesta's face and she was staring right back at him. Before he could even ask why she was doing this, he watched her tongue come out and lick him from the base of his cock to his tip.

Siesta never looked away from him and it caused quite the reaction from him. Saito honestly thought he would be embarrassed, he never thought it would turn him on so much watching Siesta lick his length up and down.

And my god was she good at it. Siesta moved from the bottom to the sides and even twisted her tongue over the top of his cock to get it nice and slick. She always ended at his tip and swirled her tongue around it. It was as if she knew how sensitive it would be and drive him even crazier.

"Siestaaaaa... that feels sooo..."

Saito didn't mean for his words to come out in a moan but there was really no other tone that would be possible at this moment. He never got to finish his thoughts though. Siesta wrapped her lips around his tip and slowly took him into her mouth.

She had gotten him slick enough to swallow just over half of him on the first try. Siesta pulled back until just his tip was in her mouth then she took him again. This time taking a little more than the last.

Saito watched as Siesta slowly but steadily took more and more of him into her mouth. Siesta never broke eye contact with Saito. Saito was only able to watch her go up and down a few times before he slammed his head into the wall and closed his eyes.

If he watched her any longer, he would be finished very quickly. Siesta was magnificent at this, he had no idea how she learned to do this. He would definitely need to ask one of these days.

Saito felt her taking more and more of him down her throat. The closer she got to having him completely down, the closer Saito came to his body giving out. His legs were starting to tremble but not because his muscles were about to give out from the strain. No. His legs were getting weak from what Siesta was doing to him.

When he felt her lips against the base of his cock and she paused with him all the way down, his legs did begin to give out. The only thing he could do was grab something so he didn't fall over, and that something happened to be Siesta's head.

His fingers slid beneath her hair, and he squeezed harder than he intended to. This made him go even deeper down her throat as he pulled her head into him and he thrust his hips simultaneously as a natural reaction.

He didn't realize he was just holding her there until he heard Siesta gag and felt some spit sliding down his cock. He quickly pulled her head back and let go of her hair. He didn't mean to do that, it was the first thing his body grabbed onto so he didn't fall over.

The sensation of being completely inside Siesta was overwhelming. He is surprised he didn't cum from that alone. He hears Siesta take a deep breath as his cock leaves her mouth with an audible pop.

"God Siesta, I'm so sorry..."

She didn't say anything at first. She just grabbed his cock where her spit was about to drip off and started stroking him up and down making him slick all over once again. Siesta saw the look in Saito's eye at what just happened. He looked sorry, concerned, and completely turned on.

 _'I wonder if he would like it if I talked like they do in my stories since he enjoyed that?'_

"Do you like me choking on your big cock... master?"

"Please don't call me..."

Saito never finished as Siesta took him to the hilt once more. She did not linger this time and pulled back just enough for her airway not to be blocked before taking him down again and again and again.

Saito's fingers threaded into her hair again and he could not help but to pull on it. He wasn't guiding her at all. She really didn't need any, but he needed to hold onto something and she didn't seem to mind. He actually felt her moan reverberate along his cock as he pulled hard on her hair.

It was overwhelming his senses and he knew he couldn't hold back much longer. Siesta was working him so quickly and perfectly he needed his release soon.

"Siesta, I'm going to..."

He tried to tell her so she could remove him from her mouth, but she did the opposite.

Siesta heard his warning and it made her want him more. She took him down again and stopped with his big cock down her throat and lips around his base. It only took a moment for her to choke and the vibration sent Saito over the edge.

Siesta felt him explode in her mouth and pulled back enough so he was spilling right down her throat. She had wanted to taste him since that bath they shared, and she would relish it for as long as she could.

When Saito came in Siesta's mouth and he watched her swallow down every last drop, it turned him on more than he ever thought it would. The satisfied look in her eyes as she tasted him was like a drug to him.

Once she had milked him for everything he had, she didn't say anything. Siesta simply stood up and walked over toward the wardrobe to begin getting ready for the day.

Saito, on the other hand, slid straight down the wall until he was sitting on the floor. His body had completely given out. Siesta was definitely right about one thing. That was relaxing. It was so relaxing that his entire body felt like Jello right now and he couldn't move a muscle.

After a few minutes, he was finally able to control his body again and he got up wordlessly, fixed his pants, and made his way to the end table. He poured himself a glass of water and drank the entire thing in one go.

He realized Siesta would probably want one too so he poured her one as well. He said nothing as he approached her. Saito tried handing her the glass of water but she seemed lost in her own little world.

 _'So he doesn't like being called master. I wonder if it is just because of the circumstances? Maybe if I dress up he would like it? I'd love to be his naughty maid or his prisoner or...'_

"Siesta..."

Siesta is brought out of her dirty thoughts when she heard Saito say her name so close to her. She turned and saw him standing right beside her with a glass of water in his hand. His thoughtfulness made her smile but she didn't take the glass.

"No thank you, Saito."

Siesta just smiled at him. He was always so caring. It always brought a smile to her face.

"But don't you want to..."

Saito really wasn't sure he should finish that sentence. He was surprised he wasn't more flustered after what just happened. There was no denying how much he enjoyed it, and the look on Siesta's face said she did as well. That was a little puzzling since he didn't do anything to her. That was until she spoke.

"No, I don't. I've waited a long time for that. I'm going to savor it."

It was out of her mouth before she even realized what she had said. Siesta can't believe she actually admitted that out loud even if it was to Saito.

 _'Oh no! He probably thinks I'm some dirty slut!'_

The worry in her mind translated onto her face and Saito saw it. It honestly made him feel guilty. She was so concerned with losing him that she didn't feel comfortable letting him know what she really wanted.

"It's ok love." he sets the glass down, embraces her, and kisses her brow. "I'm sorry I never thought about how you were raised, how you felt, or what you wanted. I want you to be yourself with me. All of you, not just what you think I will love. I'm not going anywhere Siesta. You are stuck with me forever."

Siesta wraps her arms around him, closes her eyes, and leans into his chest. His words made her relax instantly. She really did have the perfect man. She knew at that moment she needed to have that other conversation with him soon.

"Saito, there is something else important we need to discuss but I want us to deal with one thing at a time. So in a couple of days, I'd like to have dinner alone in our room so we can talk. Is that alright?"

"Of course Siesta. That's fine, my love."

 *****LEMON END*****

Now that Saito was relaxed, he was thinking clearer. It wasn't a way he thought would help him think better but it did. Today he would assess the Musketeer's progress, then adjust their training, then train with Henrietta later in the day. It made him ask Siesta.

"What are you doing today love? Do you want to come along with me? I'm sure the Musketeers wouldn't mind if you joined their training session."

"I'd love to but Ara and I have something to do. There is a caravan from the Army headed to the capitol for supplies. Ara and I both need to buy some things in the city so we are going to tag along. I should be back around dinner time so you'll have the day to yourself love."

"I can..."

"No. Ara and I will be fine. You have been training me and Ara is a very powerful mage. Not to mention we will be with a large unit from the Army. We will be perfectly safe without you and you have a job to do. You are also supposed to train with Henrietta later tonight too. Don't worry, we will be back tonight, I promise."

"You are taking Dante." Saito holds up his hand to stop Siesta's protest. "You ARE taking Dante. I'm not asking, I'm telling you. Be mad at me if you want to, but If I can't be there, Dante will be. He loves you both just as much as I do so I'll feel better if he is there."

A smile comes over Siesta's face, and she protests no more. Siesta is pretty sure Saito didn't catch his slip up, but she did.

She wrapped her arms tightly around him for a moment then released him and stepped back. She had gotten ready for the day while he was sitting on the floor so she turned towards the door and said to him.

"Hurry up and get dressed. I'll go get Ara and we can have breakfast together before we head to the capital."

Saito didn't think about her words, he just started to get dressed for the day. Since their rooms were on the royal suite level, there were more rooms than just a bedroom. He grabbed Derf off the wall just outside the main entrance to their apartment before he headed out to meet Ara and Siesta.

"It sounded like you had a good morning, partner."

"Y-You heard t-that?"

"Of course I did. It seems Siesta finally got what she wanted, partner."

Somehow, the talking sword sounded smug.

"Y-You knew she wanted to d-do that?"

Saito had no idea how Derf would know she wanted to do that. He was a sword, not a person. How in the world did he pick up on Siesta's wants when Saito couldn't?

"You'd have to be as oblivious as, well, you to have not figured that out a long time ago, partner."

Saito had nothing to come back with so he just exited the rooms and walked toward Ara's room. He saw Ara coming out of her rooms just as it came into view and Siesta waiting there for her.

"Morning, Ara."

"Good morning, Saito."

The blush wasn't very noticeable on Ara's face, but Saito saw it anyway. He wondered why she was blushing saying good morning then Derf's words rang in his mind again.

 _'Oh no! Please tell me she didn't hear that as well!'_

"R-Ready for breakfast?"

Saito didn't do a very good job of acting normal, but luckily Siesta and Ara simply nodded. Siesta took his arm and practically dragged him to the dining hall. Breakfast quickly went from awkward to talkative. They talked about what they were buying in the city, what Saito would be doing while they were gone, and Dante.

Breakfast was over too quickly for Saito's liking and he was saying goodbye to Siesta and Ara as he went towards the training area. He observed the Musketeers training and was impressed with their progress. They had done quite well considering there wasn't a KI user here teaching them.

Saito realized when he was tweaking their training that he would need to talk with Henrietta. It was almost lunchtime and he hadn't seen her at all yet. It should seem more unusual that a commoner like him was used to seeing his country's Princess by this time in the day, but it didn't seem unusual to him.

He supposed he wasn't exactly a typical commoner. He was a Royal Guard, not to mention the Princess' personal guard and familiar. Right as he was about to break for lunch, he saw Henrietta standing there watching him instruct the Musketeers. He gave Aimee the final tweaks to her stance and made his way over to the Princess.

"Good day, your highness. It is grand of you to grace us with your presence on such a beautiful day."

The mocking bow and formal way he tried to address the Princess only brought a giggle to Henrietta's lips. She shouldn't be acting such a way in such a public setting but it seemed it was hard to act proper around Saito.

"Royal Guard Saito de Hirago. It is a pleasure to see you training our Musketeers finally. How is their training coming along?"

Henrietta couldn't help but tease him a little before moving the conversation forward. It seemed easy to do with Saito and this was no exception. She could have drug out the teasing by reciting some more of his titles but she would save that for another time.

"I'm impressed with their progress without having a KI user around to help. I was actually thinking about coming to find you. I wanted to ask if I could send a raven to Tarbes and get some of their knights to come to help me. It will be easier to train them if I had some help from experienced KI users."

"I see no problem with that, Saito. How many knights were you thinking of bringing here?"

"Just four of them. It should be plenty to help me. I'd like to invite Richard, the Captain of the Knights of Tarbes, but I don't want to take his leadership away from there if Albion comes invading. I'll send for some of the younger knights, they will be able to fulfill the roles nicely."

"Don't you think bringing more would help train more people?"

"I don't want to just train anyone to use KI. The more people who know, the more likely someone will abuse this power. Other than the Knights of Tarbes, I only plan on training the Musketeers to use it because of their devotion and loyalty to you, Henrietta. I don't want anyone else to be able to use this power unless they can be trusted."

"You make a good point Saito."

"It is strange to see you so late in the day Henrietta. I guess I've grown too used to seeing you for most of the day."

Saito rubs his neck and chuckles a bit. It was strange for that to be the norm for him. Spending most of your day with the Princess of a country was not something Saito ever imagined he would need to get used to, but he had.

Henrietta was a lot different though. Not only was she just a good person, but she was unlike any royalty he had ever met. He didn't even know someone of royal blood could be so selfless and caring. It went against everything he had seen in this world and most of what he read in his former one.

"I had a meeting to attend this morning."

Saito was kind of puzzled. He was at every meeting she had. Well, he was informed of all of them and attended the ones he could if she didn't have him doing something else. Saito guessed training the Musketeers was probably more important than what they talked about.

"Well, I hope your meeting went well. I'm guessing the smile on your face is a good indication it did."

Saito had noticed the happy smile on Henrietta's face from the moment he saw her. She was almost always in a ridiculously good mood though. For some reason, she seemed extra happy today.

"Yes. My meeting was very... promising."

* * *

In a meeting room on the royal floor sat five women. This gathering was unusual on many levels. First, there were four nobles and a commoner at this meeting. To make it even stranger, two of the nobles were of royal blood and one of them was a half-elf.

If that didn't start off weird enough, it was the commoner who called this meeting and the four nobles had simply complied and attended the meeting. Siesta sat around the table with Ara, Henrietta, Tiffania, and Kirche. Siesta stood up and started.

"Thank you for coming everyone. Does anyone have a guess as to why we are here?"

"Saito."

Ara knew the answer to the question but it was not her who voiced it. It was Kirche.

"Yes, Saito. I'll start by saying I asked you all here because I know that all of you love him as I do."

"But I don't... you are..."

Siesta stops Tiffania from continuing.

"It's alright Tiffania, I of all people understand. You are subtle about it like Henrietta is. Perhaps it's your royal blood that makes you naturally cautious but I can see it."

Siesta turns in Kirche and Ara's direction.

"You are obvious about it." she points to Kirche. "I've never seen you act so proper around a man before, and Ara... well we talked about this already."

She looks at each of them before continuing.

"I'm not mad at any of you. I completely understand, and I have a proposal for all of you. I also might have a possible way we can make this work so we don't have to hide it. Will you hear me out?"

Every woman at the table looked at the others. It was easy to tell that Siesta was telling the truth and they were all in love with Saito. They may have different reasons, but that didn't mean they loved him less than the others.

They all nodded.

"This is how I propose we make this work. What happens when a ruling Queen gets married?"

"Whoever she marries becomes King."

Tiffania answers the question for Siesta.

"Exactly, but there is an exception for that if the man doesn't want all the responsibilities of a King right? It is seldom used because the conditions are hard to meet."

"A King Consort."

Henrietta answers this time and is starting to see where Siesta is going with this.

"Correct. Since I will be marrying Saito first, he normally wouldn't be able to marry a Queen, but... If he was a King Consort, our marriage wouldn't be a problem."

"I'm sorry but it sounds like King Consort means heir producer. Why would those conditions be so hard to meet?"

Kirche was curious when she figured out where this was going. If the requirements were making heirs, any man would do for that. Why were the conditions hard to meet?

"A King Consort needs to be approved by the majority of the nobles and the common people. There is rarely anyone who can gain the favor of both, and be worthy of the title. There have only ever been two in our history and the last one was centuries ago."

Henrietta let Kirche know exactly why it was rarely used. Kirche now understood why Henrietta was here but had no idea how this tied into her, Ara, and Tiffania.

"So that means Princess Henrietta would be fine. I don't see how that helps any of us."

Kirche motions to the three of them who weren't Siesta and Henrietta. Siesta looks at Henrietta and says.

"I am assuming when the war with Albion is over, you plan on making Tiffania Queen?"

"I do if she is willing. I won't force her to do it, but she is the last member of the royal family."

Tiffania is speechless. Henrietta had never even hinted at the idea of that happening. How in the world would a half-elf who lived her life in the woods be made into the Queen? Even Kirche and Ara were staring wide-eyed at Tiffania because they realized where Siesta was going with this.

"Restoring the royal family would gain a lot of favor towards yourself, Henrietta, and Tristania. What better way to make that bond truly strong and permanent by sharing a King Consort?"

"What makes you think you could get the majority of the nobles and commoners to accept Saito as King Consort? And I still don't see how this helps me and Ara."

Kirche understood how this benefitted royalty. Even amongst nobles, there was a hierarchy, and royals could get away with more than anyone. Her family might be powerful but they weren't royalty.

She would have to be a mistress and not a wife even if her country was more lenient when it came to marriage than all the others. When a royal was in the same marriage, you couldn't hold the same title so she would-be mistress, not a wife. Then she thought some more.

 _'But wait... if Siesta is still his wife as well as Henrietta and Tiffania...'_

The lightbulb went off in her mind and Siesta saw when it did.

"Exactly Kirche. Since he will not be a King, but a King Consort, yourself and Ara can both marry him. Tristania already has a solid relationship with Germania because of Saito. Since there is no woman of royal blood Saito could marry. We will say he is marrying members of each side of your countries government to solidify the alliance. Ara's family is known for its money and mercantile influence. Your family is known for its money and military influence. A bride from each side of the argument so we can say we aren't showing favoritism. I know Saito will do something great in the war against Albion to gain the favor of the nobles and commoners of Albion."

"But what about Galia? Won't they be a problem eventually?"

It was Ara who voiced this thought. She saw where Siesta was going with this but that would mean at least a bride or two more if they were doing this to placate everyone into accepting.

"That won't be a problem. King Joseph doesn't seem to care about anything, and if Tabitha or her mother ever take their rightful place, we can count on their support already. He saved her mother's life, and I talked to Tabitha about this. I couldn't read her so I had no choice but to ask. She said she wanted Kirche to be happy since she finally found someone to love so she would not be pursuing Saito."

"I'm glad you thought of all this Siesta and I don't mean to sound rude, but... How exactly did you figure all this out? Aren't you a farmer turned maid turned adventurer?"

"Yes, I am. Saito tells me all about his former world. Everything from crops to the government to math. He said the type of government you are trying to establish is like an Oligarchy. The royal family has the final say but you have a small council of people who give advice and opinions. Yours is different because your council members are nobles and commoners but they also have rights. He has taught me more than just how to swing a sword and where to attack a monster."

"I can certainly see that. Perhaps I'll have to make you a Princess of Tristania if I get to marry Saito."

Henrietta is impressed with Siesta enough to jest with her. Well, it sounded like a jest but to Henrietta's political mind, it sounded like a good move. She could get even more love from her people if she made Siesta an honorary Princess of the country since they would share a husband. The people would love it, she would have to spend some time and figure out how the nobles would react.

"I'm sure you will Henrietta."

Siesta certainly sounded sure of herself, but the other women couldn't help but doubt her. They all knew Saito, and couldn't see him marrying anyone other than Siesta. Siesta didn't seem to share their doubt though.

"Saito unknowingly admitted something to me this morning. I know he will come around to the idea of marrying all of you if he hasn't already."

Siesta definitely sounded sure about her reasoning, but the others still couldn't see it. Ironically, it was Ara who asked.

"What did he say that makes you so sure?"

Siesta looks at her friend with a knowing smile on her face. She wasn't going to say the words _I love you_ to Ara for Saito should be the first to say it to her, but that didn't mean she couldn't let her know he did.

"Oh, it was nothing much..." Siesta smirks at Ara. "It's just when I told him we were going into town he insisted we ride Dante because, and I quote: "Dante loves both of us just as much as he does."

Ara couldn't help but smile and blush deeply. She admitted to Siesta a while ago how she felt about Saito. Finally knowing that he felt the same was satisfying and embarrassing since she found out in front of all these other women.

"So you and Ara seem to be on track, but what about the rest of us?"

If Siesta was so keen on who Saito had feelings for, why hadn't she said anything about the rest of them?

"I'm certain he loves me, Ara, Henrietta, and Tiffania." Kirche couldn't hide the frown when she was left off that list. "The reason I don't include you Kirche is that I think Saito wants to, but he doesn't know you past your reputation. Ara and I may have told him you don't sleep around, but your reputation makes it seem like you do."

"I know. It always got me what I wanted in the past without having to do anything more than some kissing. Of course, the right guy would find it off-putting."

"It's just because he doesn't really know you. All you need to do is spend time talking with him. You haven't been clingy and that is helping but have a conversation with him. Talk to him about your family, your life, his life. He will come around if you do, I promise."

Kirche nods her head in confirmation. If Siesta was telling her to spend some time with Saito, she would certainly listen. She didn't really need an excuse, but having the blessing of the current fiance was definitely extra fuel for the fire.

"Is that all for today? I would like to check on everyone today before lunchtime."

Siesta should have realized the Princess had something to do and kept this a bit shorter, but she wasn't done yet.

"There is actually more to discuss, but we can do most of it later on. There is one more thing I'd like to bring up before we depart."

"And that is?"

"I believe Cattleya is in love with Saito and would join us as well. So think about that for the next time we meet. We can discuss a few other things we still have to as well. Cattleya should be here by then and I can have a talk with her and she may join us next time."

All the women nodded and got up from their seats. All of them had smiles on their faces at the outcome of the meeting. It would be a good day today no matter what.

* * *

So there is chapter 14... pretty much nothing but a little smut, relationship progress, and the women laying the ground work for the harem... hope you enjoyed it! I'll try updating as much as I can but as I said in a few reviews, I'm having a little trouble coming up with chapter content at the moment... I'll try to get more chapter out when I can though... Until next time!


	15. Finally! He's Mine!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything

"Talking"

 _'Thinking'_

 ***ABILITY/SPELL/SKILL***

 **A/N:** Sorry it's been forever, I'm going to try and give this fanfic another go... I hope I can keep it up and you guys enjoy it... here goes nothing!

* * *

Saito and Henrietta sat down for lunch together right after their talk. It was much like all the time they spent together, comfortable. Henrietta being able to feel like a woman for more than five minutes, and Saito completely oblivious that he was having lunch with a Princess.

Saito knew Henrietta was Princess, even if he hadn't known her personally, everything about her screamed royalty. Her beauty, her poise, her grace, and her heart. Most of the time though, she was just Henrietta to him.

Saito wasn't sure exactly when that had happened, but he hadn't questioned it in quite some time. Perhaps it was when they spent that night in the inn. Perhaps it was when he called himself her dog to those traitors. If none of those were it, he was sure it was when he became her familiar.

Saito didn't really care when it happened if he was honest. At some point, they had gotten so comfortable with one another that Saito now felt confident enough to wipe her mouth at lunch. Henrietta didn't even say anything, she just blushed.

Saito had been clueless for quite a while, but over the last couple of weeks, he started noticing little things. Most of them concerned Siesta and Ara, but it wasn't just them. It was most of the women around him doing small things it took him forever to notice.

Henrietta's blush right now was just like the one Ara had started having when he helped her down from Dante. The same one Tiffania and Kirche had when he complimented them. For the longest time, he thought it was out of embarrassment.

It wasn't until recently when he saw that same flush on Siesta's cheeks after they had gotten a little too carried away with their kisses that he realized what it was. All of these women were turned on by him.

He truly tried to reign in his, let's say intimate, interactions with those women in the few days since he realized that. However, he found it was harder than he imagined. It felt right to be this close to them, and it made him feel a little guilty.

He had no intention of doing anything about it, he would never do anything like that to Siesta, but he couldn't seem to give up these stolen little moments with each of them. Saito was certain that if he hadn't met Siesta, he would have easily fallen in love with any of them.

Well, he is pretty sure. Kirche was still a mystery to him if he was being honest. There was no denying how incredibly beautiful she was, but she was much different than the type of girls he thought he would end up with.

Saito supposed he didn't have much room to talk thinking like this. He was engaged to Siesta and sharing intimate moments with women who were not her. Even if he never planned on going there, it still felt like it was a betrayal.

But he just couldn't seem to stop himself.

He loved seeing that flush on Henrietta's face when he had just wiped something off her mouth for her. He had spent a lot of time with Henrietta and no one could ever get that kind of reaction from her. Even when she said she was in love with Prince Wales. His name would bring a smile to her face, but not as strong a reaction as she had to Saito.

There was another he felt similar for, but he never spent much time with her. He had never seen her flush like the others, but every time he touched her, it felt like his whole body was on fire. He wasn't sure if Cattleya felt it too, so he didn't dive too deep down that hole.

Saito had no idea how something could feel so wrong and yet so right at the same time. And now, here he was, just after lunch, training with Henrietta again. They had added handling a dagger to their training recently so Henrietta could always defend herself to some extent, no matter the situation.

He was standing right behind Henrietta, hands on her waist, and adjusting her stance. He was showing her the vital spots to attack in case she needed to know. As soon as his hands left her hips, she thrust the dagger at the dummy hitting the spot perfectly.

"Very good, Henrietta."

Saito's words sent a shiver down Henrietta's spine. He was so close she could feel his breath hitting her ear. After their meeting this morning, Henrietta decided to see if Siesta might be right, and now she believed she was.

Henrietta never believed for a moment that Saito would love someone other than Siesta. But everything she has noticed since then makes her feel as if he feels the same she does. It didn't take long for her to realize this either.

Right after they teased each other a bit in the yard with their titles, they had gone to grab lunch before training. Saito had wiped something off her mouth with his thumb right in the middle of the dining hall like it was the most natural thing in the world to do.

Her cheeks heated up like they always did when he touched her, and that warmth inevitably started spreading down her body, but that wasn't surprising. What was surprising was the smile on Saito's face.

She had always avoided his gaze after he did something like that and now she wondered if he always smiled like that when he made her flush. It was then she realized that she had only ever seen him smile at Siesta and Ara like that.

Now she was noticing for the first time he looked at her like that. He was doing it right now, as she hits the spot on the training dummy he told her to. She wanted to see him smile at her like that all the time.

"It's because I have the best teacher possible!"

"Don't let Agnes hear you say that or I might be in trouble."

She shifts a little bit to look at him, and he's doing it again. His smile always brightens her day. He has many reasons not to smile, but he rarely doesn't have one on his face. These kinds of smiles though, are rare and only for some people.

She takes a tiny side step toward him and now, she is pressed right up against him. She had to bite her lip to hold back the sigh or moan that almost came out when her back hit his chest. Neither one would have been good to let escape.

She feels Saito's body stiffen for a moment and thinks she has taken it too far. Before she takes that small step back, his body completely relaxes and he can't hold back the small sigh that escapes.

Henrietta feels completely victorious for the moment and smiles. Her victory didn't last long as she felt Saito's left hand rest on her hip. She held back, but when he took his right hand, grab her below the wrist, and trailed his fingers up to grab her hand, a small moan escaped her lips.

She knew he could have just grabbed her hand to guide it, but he made sure to touch more of her than he needed to. He made sure it was within reason for the training yard, but she noticed.

She felt his body reacted to her moan as well. He definitely heard it, but it appears no one else did. She thought she got one over on Saito, only to get one right back. He pulls her hand back and thrust it forward into the side of the dummy.

"That's another one." he breathes into her ear. "It won't kill someone immediately, but the pain will be unbearable. It will give you time to get away."

Saito takes a step back and Henrietta immediately misses the contact. She thrusts forward though and strikes the target right where he instructed her too. She does it a few more times before she hears.

"That's enough, Henrietta. I think we can call it a day."

She'd be lying if she said she wanted this to end, but Saito was right. She still had a lot to do before dinner which was in about ten minutes. She couldn't spend all her time flirting with Saito.

"Thanks again, Saito. It was a good idea to teach me the basics of handling a weapon. I can't always rely on my magic."

"I want to make sure you can always defend yourself, Henrietta. Would you like to grab some dinner? Siesta and Ara were supposed to be back by now but they aren't."

"I'd love to but..." she really would. "I still have to talk with Agnes, some of the musketeers, and some of the commanders. I'll grab something when I'm done but you should go enjoy dinner."

"Shouldn't I stay to guard you?"

 _'I'd love that, but...'_

"I'll have Agnes with me. Go enjoy dinner, and I think there is someone who wishes to speak with you anyway."

Henrietta points behind Saito and he turns to see what she means. He expected to see Ara or Siesta since they should be back any time now, but that isn't who is looking at him.

Kirche is standing there looking like she wants to interrupt his and Henrietta's conversation. Saito and Henrietta bid each other goodbye and Saito makes his way over to Kirche.

"Hey, Kirche! Do you need anything?"

Kirche's appearance is how it always is, stunning. She was the type of girl who knew she looked good and didn't mind showing it off. The only one who felt that way of all the women around him, really.

What is different, is her fidgeting and she's... Saito can't believe it, she's blushing. She hides it better than anyone else. He is sure her skin complexion helps with that, but he can see it.

"No... I mean, yes... or kind of..." Kirche huffs completely unused to being the one doing the chasing but composes herself. "Siesta and Ara told me if they weren' t back by dinner to keep you company for dinner. That is... if... that is... alright."

Kirche had composed herself, but by the end, Saito's gaze had her faltering again. She felt like all the girls she made fun of who fell for the first pretty face to say some flowery words. It was utterly ridiculous she would act like this, but she couldn't deny she loved it.

"Of course that's alright. I wouldn't want to make Siesta or Ara mad at me, and who passes up dinner with a beautiful girl?"

Kirche's cheeks heat up tremendously at his last question. She even sees him extend his elbow like some chivalrous knight in a story to escort her. They walk and talk the whole time.

The one thing Kirche notices more than anything about her walk with Saito is that he always looks her in the eye when he talks to her. Sure, she noticed he looked her over when he saw her, but he was a man and Kirche knew she was beautiful.

It was the reason she dressed as she did. Men would simply stare at her breasts and do anything for her, but not Saito. He appreciated her figure but then gave her all his attention.

She was certain it was the reason she fell in love with him. And now, walking with him, eating dinner, and talking with him. She knew there were more reasons why she loved this man.

The only time she noticed his attention away from her eyes was when she was blatant in her flirting. Leaning toward him to give him a great view, squeezing them together with her arms in an innocent way, or anything like that.

She definitely wanted Saito to understand her more, but she was herself. Flirting was something she was good at, and she never truly enjoyed it until now. Saito looked to be enjoying it as well.

They had both already eaten, talked about a number of things, and didn't realize they were the only two left in the dining hall until they heard someone say.

"Hey, Saito. Hey, Kirche."

They both looked over to see Ara standing there. That is when they looked around and noticed it was only the three of them in the dining hall. Even all the dishes and staff had been cleared out already.

"Hey, Ara. When did you and Siesta get back?"

Neither Saito or Kirche could believe they talked for so long. It seemed like barely any time at all had gone by.

"Just a few minutes ago. I needed to talk to Kirche, and Siesta said you two had something to discuss."

 _'Yes, we sure do...'_

It was the reason he spent so much time training Henrietta, talking to Kirche, and everything else he did to keep himself busy throughout the day. If he wasn't doing something, it was all he could think about.

He hadn't been thinking about what to do. He had made up his mind the moment he walked out of that room this morning. The anticipation for the conversation had him wound up though so that is why he spent so much energy to distract himself with other things.

"Alright, I'll let you two talk." Saito surprises both of them by grabbing Kirche's hand and planting a kiss on the back of it before kissing Ara's cheek. "See you two tomorrow."

Both are too stunned to say anything and simply wave goodbye. Saito makes his way to his and Siesta's room and doesn't hesitate to enter. He knew what he needed to say, but he didn't see Siesta.

"Siesta?"

Saito asks the empty room, Ara said she was here. He heard a voice come from behind the bathroom door and say.

"In here Saito! I'm glad Ara found you!"

"She did. How was your trip?"

"It was pretty good. I'm hoping it gets better soon."

 _'That was a weird way to answer that.'_

Saito was curious at her wording but would file it away for later. They needed to talk and maybe her being behind a door would allow him to get through all he had to say.

"Siesta I..." he takes a deep breath. "I feel horrible for what I've done. I've made you think you couldn't be yourself around me simply because of what my dad believed. I see now what you were telling me before. You were so embarrassed at what I would think of you after you..."

He'd let that one trail off, not because he didn't want to remember what she said or did, but because it would distract him way too much to get through all of this.

"Anyway, I don't want you to feel that way. I want you to be you, and if part of being you is wanting to get more intimate with me even before we marry, I will gladly accept that part of you."

Saito was hoping to get a reaction from Siesta but he can't hear her saying or doing anything. Perhaps he worded that wrong and made it sound like he was just giving her something she wanted and he didn't as well.

"And please don't think you are alone in that, Siesta. I have been attracted to you since the moment I laid eyes on you. If I wasn't trying to do what I thought was right in the past, I would have kissed you during that first bath we took together like I wanted to."

Saito can finally hear her shuffling toward the door, but she still doesn't say anything.

"I fight my desire to be with you every time we lay down together. No matter if it is on a bed, in a cot, or on the ground. You are perfect in every way and I dream of kissing every inch of your skin. I want to touch every part of you so I know all of you. I want to hear you say my name in pure bliss and know that I'm the one who makes you feel that way. I..."

Saito planned on continuing with his rant about exactly how much he dreamed of being with Siesta, but the bathroom door opened and Saito lost his voice.

Siesta was standing there, but she was not wearing her normal outfit. Saito couldn't speak at how downright sexy she looked right now, but he did manage a single thought.

 _'They have lingerie in this world?!'_

 ***LEMON START***

Siesta stood there in a see-through red slip. The only part that wasn't completely see-through was where her chest was. She had on long red stockings that connected to a red garter belt, and she had on the tiniest, sexiest, red lace panties Saito had ever seen.

It wasn't just her outfit either. Everything about Siesta at the moment screamed sexy. From her outfit to her pose to the look in her eye. And when she speaks... he can hear the want in her voice.

"Do you like my trade?~"

"T-Trade..."

All the blood in Saito's brain has relocated and it is hard for him to think at the moment.

"Yes~ I used to do the laundry here so I made a trade with Kirche~ She told me where to buy this~" Siesta slowly runs her hands up and down her new outfit to drive Saito crazy. "And she got to have dinner with you~"

Saito almost gained his composure enough to speak, but then, Siesta started stalking her way toward him and he forgot what he was going to say.

"And it was a win-win for you, my love~ Dinner with a beautiful redhead~ Seeing your fiance in her first-ever lingerie~ Quite the accomplishment for not knowi-"

Siesta planned on continuing until she was done being sexy for Saito, but he changed that plan. He moved so fast, she didn't see him until he was inches from her face. His gaze took her breath away and stole the words from her.

Siesta could feel herself heating up and getting wet. It worked even better than she could imagine. His gaze was so intense, she could feel herself wanting to moan. He put both his hands on her stomach and she finally exhaled.

His gaze never left hers as his fingers spread out against her flesh and slowly explored ever inch of her toned abs, sides, and finally her back. When he finally had his arms around her, he pulled her into a passionate kiss that had Siesta moaning into his mouth.

Saito snaked his left hand up her spine and his right hand down it. His left hand finally stopped to grab the back of her neck and deepen their kiss. He wanted her to know there was no doubt what he meant to do.

Siesta felt his right hand go down her spine and the arousal she felt made her body quiver. She felt him go right underneath her garter and panties not wanting to miss an inch of her flesh.

He slid his hand straight down her ass and cupped it to squeeze. She could feel his fingers spreading her juices up her leg as he started to grab her ass. It made her moan even louder knowing how wet he was already making her.

Saito wished he didn't have to breathe but he did. The moment he did, his other hand found her ass and lifted her up. Siesta wrapped her legs around his waist and he turned toward the bed. Neither one could look away from the other.

Siesta began to pant as if Saito was already inside of her. His gaze and feeling his hard member pressed up against where it belonged was driving her mad. There was only his pants and her tiny little panties between them now.

Saito set her down like she was the most delicate flower in the world and Siesta took in every moment of his gaze she could. She moved to kiss him again but he bypassed her lips and went straight for her neck.

She splayed her arms out wide and tilted her head to give him access to anywhere he wanted. Saito kissed, licked, and bit her shoulder and neck everywhere he could until he was right against her ear.

"Time for my sexy fiance's reward~"

Saito wasn't sure trying to be sexy would work, but Siesta's reaction made him think it did. She moaned right into his ear and he heard her clench the sheets so tight they might rip. Before she could say anything, Saito grabbed her wrists, pinned them above her head, and claimed her lips.

Saito held both her wrists with his left hand and slowly snaked his right hand down Siesta. It started with the soft caress of her arm down to her ear then down to her neck. Goosebumps were rising all over Siesta's flesh and she was grinding her hips up and down his crotch.

Siesta could feel his member as she rubbed it up and down between her lips and his delicate touch was making her even wetter. She was sure the front of his pants were soaked but she couldn't find it in her to care.

She wanted nothing more than to rip those pants off and finally have him, but he was holding her down using his mouth everywhere he could now. When he latched onto one of her nipples and lightly bit down, she moaned so loud she thought she may have cum for the first time.

Saito finally stopped the slow torture and sat up above her. He was reaching to finally take her soaked panties off and she immediately went for his pants. He grabbed her wrists again and stopped her.

He put her arms above her head again and loomed over her. He lowered himself down to her ear and whispered.

"Patience, love~ You'll be mine in every way~"

He sounded so sincere, so sexy, that Siesta only nodded and didn't move a muscle. He went back and slowly grabbed her panties. He pulled them slowly off her until her legs were straight up in the air in front of him. He put a hand on the inside of her thighs and slowly spread her open to him.

Saito started to descend, but not to her lips as she thought. He kissed and licked the inside of her thighs until he had her legs spread wide and knees almost touching the bed. Siesta barely had time to register what he was doing when his tongue hit her wet, eager lips.

Siesta could no longer hold her arms above her head, and she fisted every inch of hair she could grasp on Saito's head.

"OH... MY... GOD... SAITO!"

Siesta wouldn't be surprised if every person on the school grounds just heard her. Saito worked his tongue up and down her wet lips delving deeper and deeper with each pass. He would stop and circle her bundle of nerves every pass as he tasted Siesta.

Siesta couldn't stop squirming at Saito's attention. Her legs were shaking, her moans were deafening, and she was getting completely lost in pleasure she didn't know was possible. Saito had his tongue on her for only a minute and she felt like she was going to explode.

Once Saito spread her juices all over every inch of her, he focused his tongue on her bundle of nerves and slowly slid his middle finger inside of Siesta. Siesta gripped his hair even harder and tried to put his tongue deeper inside of her as she felt his finger stretch her out.

Saito slowly drew his finger in and out of Siesta's incredibly tight walls. Even just his one finger was a tight fit inside of her. He started going faster and faster as Siesta moaned his name and tried to get him deeper inside of her.

"YES! YES! OH... MY... SAITO!"

Saito could feel her walls starting to constrict on his finger and curled his finger up to rub her spongy g-spot. She clutched his hair so hard he thought she would rip it out. Instead, he heard the most erotic moan leave her mouth as her walls clamped down on his finger and her juices flowed down onto his tongue.

But this was just the beginning for her.

While she came over and over on his tongue, he slipped a second finger inside of her. He screams stopped, her entire body arched, and she stopped breathing for a moment. Then, she let out an ear-piercing scream as her whole body collapsed on the bed.

Her walls and her legs convulsed faster and faster trying to devour his fingers. A river of her sweet nectar ran down Saito's tongue and throat and Siesta started babbling like she was possessed.

"SO... GOD... MY... FUCK... YES! GOOD... YES! PLEASE! PLEASE! YES! YES!"

Siesta was practically begging at the end as he lapped up the last of her juices. She tasted so sweet like peaches and honey. He kissed the inside of her thighs as he snaked his hands under her slip.

He slowly exposed her abs, chest, and shoulders as he pulled it over her head. He spent extra time licking, sucking, and biting her nipples as it brought whimpers and moans from her every time he did.

Finally, he was staring into those beautiful eyes of hers, the tip of his cock running through her lips to slide inside of her, and finally, she nodded her head.

He slowly slid inside of Siesta. He could feel every inch of her stretching to make room for him and it was almost overwhelming. It was as if his foreplay did nothing to prepare her for this. The only reason he didn't think that to be true was the sounds of pure ecstasy Siesta was moaning along with him.

"SO... GOOD... SAITO! YES!"

"SO... TIGHT... SIESTA! YOU'RE... PERFECT..."

He was only halfway in when he hit her barrier. He went to stop and make sure she was ready, but Siesta wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him all the way into her. He broke through her barrier so suddenly and was hilt deep, that he couldn't stop himself from coming undone at that moment.

"SIESTA!"

He was stuck between pure bliss, worry, and embarrassment at what just happened. There was no denying that Saito felt complete, fully sheathed inside Siesta. Then it turned to worry he already got her pregnant to the embarrassment he lasted barely five seconds.

The only thing that saved him from complete embarrassment was Siesta's walls clenching around his hard member as she screamed out his name. Knowing that she also came so suddenly and quickly after having just done it a moment ago made him feel better.

"SAITO!"

Siesta wrapped her legs tighter around him to get him in as deep as possible as wave after wave of pleasure washed over her. The feeling of him coating her womb with his seed made her cum again instantly. She wished he could stay right there forever.

When it finally passed for both of them, neither looked anything but in love as they stared into each other's eyes. Saito was still hard as a rock so finishing that fast wasn't embarrassing anymore. It felt to him like that would happen no matter what they had done.

Siesta relaxed her legs around his waist and Saito slowly pulled out. Siesta was going to whimper at the loss of him but he slowly slid back inside of her before she could. Saito slowly picked up his pace as his cock stretched Siesta out over and over again.

Siesta was digging her nails in his back, thrusting her hips up at every entrance, and moaning sexier than Saito ever thought possible. When he bent down to take one of her perfect nipples attached to those huge tits in his mouth, Siesta thought she might cum again.

"YES... YES... YES... SAITO! MAKE... ME... YOURS!"

Saito moved to the other breast as he went faster and faster inside of Siesta. All he could hear was skin slapping against skin, his and Siesta's moans, and her unattended tit bouncing up and down as he fucked her harder and harder.

Saito released her breast and sat up a bit. He put both of his hands on a thigh, spread her wide, and pushed her knees to the bed. He pushed all the way inside her when she was spread for him, and Siesta started to see stars as his tip hit her womb over and over again.

The louder she moaned and screamed, the farther he pushed her legs down to the bed to open her up for him. He finally had both her feet above her head and held them there with his left hand.

He ran his right hand down the front of his beautiful, sexy, toned fiance feeling every inch of flesh from her forehead to her dripping lips. He circled his thumb over the top of her lips to find that bundle of nerves, and when he found it, he circled it and made her cry out her walls started to clench on his member.

"SAITO! I'M GOING TO..."

"SIESTA! I'M GOING TO..."

Siesta was still so tight, it felt like she was using her womb, mouth, and hand to try and milk him for everything he had. When her dam finally broke and she started gushing and clamping down on his member, he couldn't hold back anymore.

Saito slammed himself into her womb over and over again as he painted her velvety walls with his hot seed once again. All sense of worry if he would get her pregnant was out the window as it felt like the only place he ever wanted to place his seed.

Saito finally collapsed on top of Siesta, still inside of her, and breathed her in deeply. She smelled as wonderful as she always did, but adding the thin layer of sweat and musky scent of their lovemaking made her even more desirable.

He realized he was probably crushing Siesta so he started to get up only for Siesta to say.

"Don't leave me."

Saito leaned up and looked her in her beautiful eyes before giving her a loving kiss and saying.

"I'm not going anywhere love. Just moving to your side so I don't crush you."

Before he could move, Siesta said.

"That's not what I meant..."

Finally, Saito understood. Instead of getting off of her, he rolled over and brought Siesta with him so she was on top of him now. He was still inside of her as she wanted and now, he could run his hands all over her silky smooth skin.

"I'm sorry I didn't pull out. I know we never talked about kids before."

Siesta looks at him and can't help but smile. She never did get the chance to tell him, she was too lost in his gaze and attention to even remember about it.

"I'd love to give you as many children as you want, my love. However, you don't have to worry about that. Ara cast a spell on me before you came up that prevents pregnancy and disease. I'll be ready for children whenever you are, my love."

That made Saito completely relax. He really did want children with Siesta, a lot of them, but it wasn't the right time for that. There were too many dangers and at least one more war still to fight. He wonders if she would run away if he told her he wanted a dozen kids. He'd save that for later just in case it was too many.

The thought of having kids with Siesta was already making him hard again. It probably had a lot more to do with her lying naked on top of him, lightly tracing his chest muscles with her fingers, and moaning when he lightly grazed certain parts of her skin.

Siesta felt him hardening inside of her once again as they laid there, and she couldn't help but smile into his chest. It felt even better having him grow hard inside of her. Feeling his big member fill and stretch her out to fit him perfectly.

It wasn't long before he was completely hard again, kissing her neck, and playing with her breasts. She knew he was ready again already, but he still asked.

"So how long does that spell last?"

Siesta wanted to giggle, but he slowly pushed his cock deeper inside of her and she moaned in his ear instead of giggled. It wasn't until he was fully sheathed again that she managed to get out.

"Si... Six... Ho... Hours!"

Saito rolled her over again, never leaving her already wet pussy, and stared right down at this wonderful woman who was his. He slowly drew himself out of her and back in as he watched her expression turn from aroused to bliss. The more he touched her, the louder she moaned and begged for it harder and faster. Saito only had one thing to say to her pleas.

"We better not waste a second then."

 ***LEMON END***

* * *

Kirche had just gotten her breakfast and was looking around for Saito, Siesta, and Ara. They were always the first ones down here for breakfast, but she didn't see them. That was strange.

Perhaps it was because of their time spent traveling, but they were always the first ones here. She decided to just take a seat at an empty table and begin her breakfast.

Before she could even take a bite, Ara plopped down in the seat across from her. Kirche was a little startled, but not much. She really got an eye full when she looked at Ara.

The poor girl looked exhausted. She had bags under her eyes and it didn't look like she got a single second of sleep last night. That was unusual as well.

"Have trouble sleeping last night, Ara?"

The girl finally snapped out of her exhausted stupor and surprised Kirche again. For some reason, she blushed before she said.

"I did..."

"Oh? Why couldn't you sleep?"

 _'For many reasons I'm definitely not telling you about!'_

Ara knew to tell her that would only lead to her badgering her all day about it so instead she said.

"No reason..."

Kirche laughed at her obviously not believing what she was saying.

"Judging by that flush on your cheeks I'm guessing you spent too much time thinking about Saito."

Ara's head snapped around seeing if anyone else heard Kirche say that. Luckily, no one else was close enough to hear their conversation.

 _'If you only knew what I did last night when I heard them! Even I can't believe I did that!'_

"No... not... at all."

Even Ara didn't believe what she just said. She wasn't really lying, there was no need to think about Saito like that when you could easily hear him and Siesta.

"Sure you didn't. You know... I could show you some 'techniques' to relieve some of your Saito tension."

Ara's eyes widened immediately at Kirche but not for the reason Kirche thought. Ara only had one horrifying thought.

 _'Does she know what I did last night?!'_

Before Kirche can say anything else, Henrietta and Tiffania take a seat next to them along with Agnes who is standing guard behind the Princess. Ara is thankful that conversation is over, but gets worried when Kirche notices that it didn't look like Henrietta or Tiffania got much sleep either.

"Wow, it looks like no one in the Royal Wing got any sleep last night. What were you all doing last night that kept you up?"

Everyone except Agnes blushes at Kirche's question. They are honestly surprised that Kirche didn't hear Saito and Siesta last night on the other side of the Magic Academy. It is obvious from their silence and red faces that none of them want to talk about what happened last night. Kirche would get to the bottom of this, it was a mystery to make her day interesting.

Kirche decided to pursue this mystery the moment breakfast was over. She followed everyone to the Royal Wing and stopped at Siesta and Saito's door as everyone kept going to their rooms.

When they noticed what she was about to do, Henrietta, Ara, and Tiffania all yelled.

"What are you doing?!"

It was too late and Kirche had already slipped into the sitting room and knocked on the bedroom door. She turned toward the three women and wondered why they were acting this way. It was strange again. Something definitely happened last night they don't want to talk about.

"I didn't see Saito or Siesta at breakfast. I don't want them to miss out so I thought I'd wake them up. Why?"

Before any of them could answer, they heard an exhausted voice from the other side say.

"Who... is... it?"

Kirche got a sly smirk before saying.

"Kirche, Ara, Henrietta, and Tiffania."

The door opened a bit, but they didn't see anyone poke their head out. They only heard the still exhausted voice of Siesta say.

"Come in."

Kirche wasted no time entering and the others hurried in to try and stop her from going in, but they weren't fast enough. When they finally did enter, they all stop dead in their tracks as they collided with one another.

Kirche was solidly planted in the ground completely unable to move, and all three easily figured out why. Siesta was sitting on the end of the bed stretching trying to wake herself up. However, the only thing she was wearing was a pair of red stockings.

Everything else was on full display. Henrietta and Tiffania tried to look away but they'd be lying if they didn't look for a moment. Kirche and Ara were staring at her. Kirche was doing it completely unabashedly, but Ara was trying to look away and simply couldn't. Of course, Kirche would say.

"Damn Siesta. I always knew you were pretty, but I had no idea you had a body like that!"

All three agreed with Kirche even if they said nothing. Not only did Siesta possess considerable 'assets', but her stomach was tight and slim and her legs were muscled and toned. It looked like the life of an adventurer agreed with Siesta.

Siesta finally woke up enough to realize what was going on and froze for a moment. She was really sitting here naked in front of four women. She'd be lying if she wasn't flattered by Kirche's statement when it finally settled in her brain, but she still panicked a bit.

She quickly grabbed the sheet from the bed and covered herself up to the best of her ability. It wasn't until she heard a whistle from Kirche, an intake a breath from everyone else, and Henrietta's comment that she realized what she did.

"No wonder you were so loud last night."

Siesta looked up and saw everyone staring past her. She turned her gaze to see what they meant and blushed completely red. Saito was still sleeping, but she pulled the sheet off him and he was naked as well.

She already knew from sleeping in the same bed with Saito that men had a 'condition' in the morning and all four of them were seeing him in such a state. She should have covered him up, but she had to admire it as well. She still had no idea how he got it not to hurt her last night. She was terrified she would be in pain for days after seeing it for the first time.

She realized she let herself and the others stare way too long at naked Saito and either forgot or didn't care she was naked as well and threw the sheet back over him. She had no idea how he would react to seeing five women staring at his naked body in the morning.

Even naked herself, Siesta stood up quickly and obviously confident in her body now since she made no move to cover up and wrestled all the girls out of the room. She didn't blush until Kirche got out.

"Oh, you're telling me all the details later, Siesta!"

She shut the door in their faces and giggled to herself a bit. Not only at the situation she was just in, but how confident and comfortable she felt naked in front of those four. She felt so confident in fact, she decided it was time to wake Saito up in a way he certainly deserved after last night.

Kirche had no intention of letting Siesta avoid telling her the details of what happened last night so she stayed behind while the others left. Judging from the bags under the eyes of Ara, Henrietta, Tiffania, and Siesta, Saito kept all of them up last night.

She knew they weren't all in there, even if they wish they were, but if he kept all them up making love to Siesta, she needed to hear every detail. If Siesta hadn't pushed her out of the room with the rest, she is sure she'd still be staring at Saito's naked body. Well, one part of it in particular.

 _'It made my mouth water just looking at it!'_

Kirche had only been standing there for a couple of minutes when she heard something behind the door. At first, she thought it would be Siesta and Saito moving around getting ready. She knew that wasn't the case when she heard muffled moans coming from behind the door.

 _'Are they really?...'_

Kirche looks around to make sure no one is still in the room or outside in the hall. She doesn't see or hear anyone so she slowly turns the handle on the door as to not make a sound. Just about everyone would never do this, but Kirche isn't everyone.

Not only is she comfortable in her sexuality, but she is also from Germania. Polygamy is a very common thing where she is from. It is also common in those relationships that a husband would sleep with more than one wife at once.

Kirche was not scared off at the thought of laying with another woman. She had no interest in doing it if there wasn't a man present but had no issue helping any woman she was sharing her husband with to gain her pleasure as well.

She wasn't lying when she said Siesta's body was stunning a little bit ago either. Siesta was attractive when she worked at the Magic Academy. Now, with her learning the sword and traveling with Saito, Kirche was comfortable saying it was the best body she had ever seen.

The door was finally open enough to slip her head in and she did. She did not see what she thought she would when she finally laid her eyes on the bed.

 ***LEMON START***

Honestly, she expected to find Siesta on her back, Saito over top of her, and both their backs to her. It was why she was alright peeking in the door. That is not what she saw.

Siesta was on top of Saito and she was facing the door. Saito was the one on his back. Siesta's legs were spread out at his shoulders, and she was taking every inch of Saito into her mouth.

Kirche now understood why the moans were muffled. It had nothing to do with the door and everything to do with their mouths being occupied. It was the hottest thing Kirche has ever seen.

First, she had absolutely no idea how Siesta could take all of _that_ down her throat. She may have only seen a few and felt plenty in her life, but none like that. She was hot, she knew she was, and anytime she would dance with a boy or even have to hug them on occasion they usually couldn't control themselves.

It was inevitable growing up in Germania you would see a few before ever laying with someone as well. All the people were fairly open with sexuality in Germania. However, she had never seen anything as impressive as Saito.

Second, she could tell Saito was very good at whatever he was doing to Siesta. Even with his member full down her throat, she couldn't stop moaning. Luckily, since Siesta was so focused on her task, she wasn't looking anywhere near the door.

Kirche watched Siesta taking Saito down over and over again. Her ample chest bouncing up and down, her hand working his shaft as she did, and she knew she was in trouble.

She took a little step into the room, but a very little one. Only half her body was through the door but she needed better balance as she watched this. She knew if she kept leaning in, how turned on she was getting would send her off balance and falling into the room.

When she did finally get halfway into the room, she couldn't help to keep watching and start touching herself. She was never one to do this often, but this she wanted to do.

She had been ignoring every man in existence that wasn't Saito for months, and she needed this more than she realized. Her left hand caressed and squeezed her breasts while her right hand slowly traveled down her middle.

She had to bite her bottom lip to keep the moan from escaping as she found her wet lips with her fingers. She teased herself enough for her fingers to get slick before inserting one inside her while she watched Siesta swallow Saito down.

It took everything Kirche had not to moan as she slid her finger in and out watching those two go at it. Saito must have hit a particularly amazing spot as Siesta's head shot up and her back arched before she screamed.

"GODS SAITO! YES!"

Kirche had gone completely still when that happened because after screaming, Siesta had opened her eyes and saw Kirche. There was no hiding what Kirche was doing either. Her left hand was under her shirt pinching her nipple while the middle finger of her right hand was inside of her wet lips.

Kirche didn't know what to do. She was afraid if she let go of her nipple or removed her finger that she would moan. All she could do was squeeze her legs together and bite her lower lip.

That got a reaction from Siesta she was not expecting. Siesta never looked away from Kirche and started stroking Saito up and down smearing her saliva all over his member. She never stopped with her moaning.

Finally, she slowly lowered her head and took him in her mouth, never breaking eye contact with Kirche. A small moan escaped Kirche's lips as she slid a second finger in herself. She started panting and had to lean back into the door as she watched Siesta swirl her tongue around his tip and take him back down again.

Kirche couldn't believe how turned on she was at Siesta watching her like this. She let small, quiet moans escape her mouth as she brought herself closer and closer to climax with her fingers. She knew they would never be heard over Saito and Siesta's.

Kirche could hear Saito getting louder at Siesta's treatment of his member and it brought her closer as well. She watched as Siesta took all of him and stopped, gagging a few times on his large member. Then she took him out of her mouth and said.

"Cum for me..."

Siesta took him back down hilt deeper then faster and faster. It made Kirche cum immediately because Siesta was looking right at her when she said that.

Kirche had to take her hand that wasn't delving in and out of her and cover her mouth to muffle her screams. She felt her wetness coating her fingers and running down her thighs as her body quivered.

She had to bite her hand to stop herself from being heard as she heard Saito cum and watched as Siesta drank down every drop. She could hear Siesta's juices being lapped up by Saito as she moaned his name and it prolonged every nerve in her body feeling intense pleasure the likes of which she has never felt.

Kirche had finally gotten her feet back under her when she watched Siesta take Saito out of her mouth, lick around his tip, uses her finger to clean the corners of her mouth, and suck her finger dry.

The sight made Kirche wet again instantly and she had to hurry to step out of the room before she did something that would set her relationship goals with Saito back to the beginning. She closed the door as silently as she could and had to lean her forehead against the door to compose herself.

Even if she thought about it before, she never believed a woman could have that effect on her. She tried with all her might to focus on Saito's member and picture it inside of her, but she couldn't look away from Siesta's eyes.

 ***LEMON END***

After Kirche composed herself and headed back to her room, Siesta and Saito emerged from their room. Saito was still oblivious to what had happened, but Siesta was pleasantly surprised at what just happened.

She would have to sit down and talk to Kirche, but surprisingly, she was not dreading that conversation at all. Not only was she looking forward to it, but she was also going to thank her for something.

Siesta leaned into Saito's shoulder as they walked down the hall hand and hand. She let a content sigh escape from her lips and a smile form.

Her life was turning out even better than the fantasy stories she read.

* * *

So finally Chapter 15 is here... As you can see, I'm trying to get over writer's block with smut lol... Honestly, it might continue in the next chapter to help me out, I'm not sure yet... Hopefully soon, I'll be able to continue writing chapters without it... it will be in the story moving forward though in different parts even if I overcome my writer's block for this story


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